10,665 Shares in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Purchased by Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,665 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,880,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 160,723 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $29,964,000 after purchasing an additional 13,761 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP increased its position in shares of First Solar by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 101,683 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $17,921,000 after purchasing an additional 23,383 shares during the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,821,701 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,259,697,000 after buying an additional 120,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 53,675 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $9,460,000 after buying an additional 8,167 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on FSLR. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on First Solar in a report on Monday, March 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $260.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.08.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $127.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.32 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $150.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.17.

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

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $30,628.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 52,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,066,815. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.