Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Purchases 4,511 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 39.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,065 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after acquiring an additional 4,511 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in First Solar were worth $2,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. lifted 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 valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised 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 valued at $7,308,000 after purchasing an additional 34,074 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in First Solar in the 4th quarter worth about $1,240,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $104,910,000 after buying an additional 49,074 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 41,342.9% in the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 2,901 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,894 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on FSLR shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of First Solar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $202.00 to $127.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Glj Research raised First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $172.37 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded First Solar from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $223.87.

First Solar Stock Performance

First Solar stock traded up $6.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $140.74. 5,416,422 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,886,620. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $116.56 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The business's 50-day moving average is $130.14 and its 200-day moving average is $164.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

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 return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The firm had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $863.11 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. The business'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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. The trade was a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.