Southpoint Capital Advisors LP Sells 100,000 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Southpoint Capital Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 25.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 100,000 shares during the quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP owned approximately 0.28% of First Solar worth $52,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $856,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 665.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $7,308,000 after purchasing an additional 34,074 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth $1,240,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $104,910,000 after purchasing an additional 49,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 41,342.9% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 2,901 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $50,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 17,594 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,197.50. This trade represents a 2.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 in the last quarter. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on FSLR shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $253.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of First Solar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $202.00 to $127.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $267.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $226.30.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR stock traded down $7.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $156.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,900,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,094,277. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.56 and a 1-year high of $306.77. The company has a market cap of $16.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14. The firm's 50-day moving average is $136.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $162.68.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The business had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

About First Solar

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.