Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Buys Shares of 40,787 First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 40,787 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $8,046,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of FSLR. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in First Solar by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 292 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 708 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 19,080 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,984,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on FSLR. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $250.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings raised First Solar from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Barclays dropped their price objective on First Solar from $228.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on First Solar from $252.00 to $237.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 9,926 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.21, for a total value of $2,314,842.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 95,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,189,465.08. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total value of $122,046.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 19,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,294,918.34. This trade represents a 2.76% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,466 shares of company stock valued at $8,014,105. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $224.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $247.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.06. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $159.85 and a twelve month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.95 EPS. Research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting First Solar

Here are the key news stories impacting First Solar this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms, including Rosen, Schall, Kaplan Fox, Pomerantz, and others, urged First Solar shareholders to act on a securities fraud/class action lawsuit ahead of the August 24 deadline. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A class action has already been filed alleging First Solar and certain officers violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) and Rule 10b-5, increasing legal overhang on the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: One market update noted First Solar stock recently fell in trading, with the decline adding to near-term weakness already reflected in the shares. Article Title

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.