Tidal Investments LLC Boosts Stock Position in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Key Points

• Tidal Investments doubled its First Solar position in the second quarter, acquiring 30,967 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 61,768 shares worth approximately $14.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.08% of FSLR.
• First Solar reported quarterly EPS of $3.92, beating estimates of $2.90, while revenue reached $1.06 billion and declined 3.4% year over year. The stock opened at $207.17, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains a “Moderate Buy”, with a consensus price target of $266.06, although Deutsche Bank and Citigroup recently downgraded the shares to “hold.” Insiders have sold 15,881 shares worth $3.6 million over the past three months.

Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 100.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 61,768 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 30,967 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC owned approximately 0.06% of First Solar worth $14,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the 2nd quarter worth $232,000. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 254,763 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $60,114,000 after acquiring an additional 19,358 shares during the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,432,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in First Solar by 5.7% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 29,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $6,906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new position in First Solar in the second quarter worth about $13,550,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $207.17 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $216.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $221.83. First Solar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $182.99 and a 52-week high of $320.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.74.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $1.02. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 32.47%.The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.18 EPS. First Solar's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.77 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FSLR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded First Solar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $196.00 target price on First Solar in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on First Solar from $300.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup lowered shares of First Solar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $266.06.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $922,706.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 5,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,402,513.12. The trade was a 39.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 3,425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.95, for a total transaction of $749,903.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 7,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,635,775.45. This represents a 31.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,881 shares of company stock valued at $3,617,086. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

First Solar Company Profile

First Solar, Inc is a renewable energy technology company that designs and manufactures photovoltaic (PV) solar modules. Unlike conventional crystalline-silicon panels, its modules use thin-film semiconductor technology based on cadmium telluride (CdTe). The company also provides supporting services, including project development, engineering, procurement and construction support, operations and maintenance, and module recycling.

First Solar primarily serves utility-scale solar developers, system owners and operators, commercial customers, and government entities.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FSLR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.