Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC Makes New $539,000 Investment in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,063 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $539,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $392,040,000. Viking Global Investors LP grew its position in shares of First Solar by 60.6% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $375,122,000 after purchasing an additional 854,919 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $200,109,000. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. grew its position in shares of First Solar by 2,663.8% during the fourth quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 666,307 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $174,059,000 after purchasing an additional 642,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of First Solar by 38.6% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,025,835 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $459,917,000 after purchasing an additional 564,032 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on FSLR. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on First Solar from $300.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on First Solar from $285.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on First Solar from $258.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on First Solar from $286.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Argus increased their target price on First Solar from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 10,628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.60, for a total value of $2,929,076.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,557,075.20. This trade represents a 30.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total value of $90,564.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 10,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,349,504.48. The trade was a 3.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,466 shares of company stock worth $8,014,105. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $254.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.15. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.26 and a 1-year high of $320.95.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.95 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Solar Company Profile

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.