Forum Financial Management LP Sells 400 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Forum Financial Management LP lowered its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,119 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in First Solar were worth $550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in First Solar by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in First Solar in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its stake in First Solar by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 475 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction of $1,021,085.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at $484,793.40. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total value of $169,125.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,492,640. This represents a 1.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on First Solar from $267.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $204.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on First Solar in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $251.63.

First Solar Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $127.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. First Solar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $116.56 and a 52-week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Equities analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About First Solar

First Solar, Inc, a solar technology company, provides photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions in the United States, France, Japan, Chile, and internationally. The company manufactures and sells PV solar modules with a thin film semiconductor technology that provides a lower-carbon alternative to conventional crystalline silicon PV solar modules.