Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 5,968 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC cut its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 73.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,111 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 5,968 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 214.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 157 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. bought a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Financial Avengers Inc. bought a new position in First Solar during the third quarter valued at $77,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $50,825.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 17,594 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,197.50. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on FSLR. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 price objective on First Solar in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.08.

First Solar Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $131.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14. First Solar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.96 and a 52-week high of $306.77. The company has a market capitalization of $14.06 billion, a PE ratio of 11.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $156.26 and its 200 day moving average is $188.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued 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 business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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.