KBC Group NV Trims Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

KBC Group NV lowered its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 36.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 48,966 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 28,172 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in First Solar were worth $8,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in First Solar by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,236,383,000 after acquiring an additional 108,984 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,602,503 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $647,440,000 after purchasing an additional 24,143 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $523,166,000 after buying an additional 904,498 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in First Solar by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,743,813 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $434,977,000 after buying an additional 15,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in First Solar by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,330,675 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $331,924,000 after buying an additional 90,249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FSLR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America cut their target price on First Solar from $246.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.29.

First Solar Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $166.01 on Thursday. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.88 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $187.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.63. The company has a market cap of $17.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.10 by ($0.19). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

First Solar 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.