Polar Capital Holdings Plc Sells 426,021 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc lessened its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 63.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 247,749 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 426,021 shares during the quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc owned approximately 0.23% of First Solar worth $43,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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 buying an additional 120,289 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 63,739 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 valued at $415,899,000 after purchasing an additional 262,482 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 223,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of First Solar by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $336,871,000 after acquiring an additional 426,797 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR traded up $5.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $170.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,153,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,098,759. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $116.56 and a one year high of $306.77. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $135.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.64. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $18.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). The company had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.11 million. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $30,628.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 52,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,066,815. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction of $1,021,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at $484,793.40. This represents a 67.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FSLR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $204.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of First Solar from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $221.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on First Solar from $191.00 to $177.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. KeyCorp lowered shares of First Solar from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.30.

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.