Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 81 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,948 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $5,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in First Solar by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 14,384 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,535,000 after buying an additional 2,734 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $533,000. Triodos Investment Management BV lifted its stake in First Solar by 119.0% during the fourth quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV now owns 208,450 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $36,737,000 after purchasing an additional 113,250 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at $317,399,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 7,302 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 1,467 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $273.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction of $1,021,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at $484,793.40. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at $14,589,129.27. This represents a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Solar Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $127.57 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $13.66 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.30. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.60 and a 12-month high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released 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). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Solar Company Profile

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.