CenterBook Partners LP Buys 12,475 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

CenterBook Partners LP lifted its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 84.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,271 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after acquiring an additional 12,475 shares during the quarter. CenterBook Partners LP's holdings in First Solar were worth $4,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in First Solar by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $856,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 665.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $7,308,000 after acquiring an additional 34,074 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,446 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $5,350,000 after buying an additional 5,780 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,240,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $104,910,000 after buying an additional 49,074 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on First Solar in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. 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 research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $304.00 to $253.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $223.00 to $217.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $254.63.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of First Solar stock traded up $5.56 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $131.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,175,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,730,516. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.63. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.56 and a 1-year high of $306.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $14.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($1.16). The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 599 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $80,116.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,717 shares in the company, valued at $6,114,648.75. The trade was a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at $14,589,129.27. This represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.