Hourglass Capital LLC Acquires New Shares in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Hourglass Capital LLC purchased a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,450 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $942,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,644,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in First Solar by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in First Solar by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,308 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at about $8,666,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,933,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on First Solar from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays lowered their price objective on First Solar from $236.00 to $204.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho upped their price objective on First Solar from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wolfe Research upgraded First Solar from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $221.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on First Solar from $236.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.69.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $177.06 on Tuesday. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.56 and a fifty-two week high of $262.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $157.39 and a 200-day moving average of $154.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.55). First Solar had a net margin of 29.72% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.05, for a total value of $1,481,812.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 8,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,246,136.85. The trade was a 54.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $466,877.71. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,798,689.49. The trade was a 20.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,976 shares of company stock worth $2,515,172. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.

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