Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP Has $8.74 Million Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 77.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 49,602 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,601 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP’s holdings in First Solar were worth $8,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in First Solar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,623,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Doliver Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 4,713 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in First Solar by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,090 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 4.8% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 1,450 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the company’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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total transaction of $169,125.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,492,640. The trade was a 1.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,739 shares of company stock valued at $4,289,403. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on First Solar in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective (down previously from $300.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.08.

First Solar Trading Up 4.5 %

FSLR stock opened at $139.10 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $165.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.16. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.96 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. Analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.