Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC Takes $539,000 Position in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,063 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $539,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,443 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,989,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 9,134 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,386,000 after purchasing an additional 2,133 shares in the last quarter. Irenic Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at $1,829,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 29,673 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $7,751,000 after purchasing an additional 10,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Clayton Partners LLC now owns 14,983 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Solar Stock Down 3.6%

FSLR stock opened at $254.80 on Thursday. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.26 and a fifty-two week high of $320.95. The business’s 50-day moving average is $236.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.56. The company has a market cap of $27.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.71.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.First Solar’s revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FSLR shares. HSBC upped their price target on First Solar from $211.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on First Solar from $258.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on First Solar from $280.00 to $250.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on First Solar from $275.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $145,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,967 shares in the company, valued at $1,241,750. This represents a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 4,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.43, for a total value of $1,191,375.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 89,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,029,435.19. The trade was a 5.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,466 shares of company stock valued at $8,014,105. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About First Solar

First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin?film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility?scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.