Moore Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 72,720 First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Moore Capital Management LP acquired a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 72,720 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $12,816,000. Moore Capital Management LP owned about 0.07% of First Solar at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in First Solar by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,821,701 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $2,259,697,000 after purchasing an additional 120,289 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in First Solar by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,666,242 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $469,154,000 after buying an additional 63,739 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in First Solar by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,359,846 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $415,899,000 after buying an additional 262,482 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in First Solar by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,835,056 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $323,410,000 after acquiring an additional 223,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $336,871,000 after acquiring an additional 426,797 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 599 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $80,116.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,114,648.75. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction of $1,021,085.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $484,793.40. This trade represents a 67.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 over the last 90 days. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Solar Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR traded down $6.80 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $186.18. 5,978,217 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,046,053. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.56 and a 12 month high of $306.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $133.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $19.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $844.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut First Solar from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on First Solar from $235.00 to $204.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on First Solar from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $253.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $223.00 to $217.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $224.48.

First Solar Company 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.