Lido Advisors LLC Has $1.37 Million Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Lido Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 54.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,794 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,743 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $1,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in First Solar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in First Solar by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in First Solar by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,090 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its stake in First Solar by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 511 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FSLR shares. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on First Solar from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.87.

First Solar Trading Up 3.1 %

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $130.54 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.38. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.56 and a 12 month high of $306.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). The firm 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. Analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In related news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total value of $1,021,085.00. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total value of $169,125.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,492,640. This trade represents a 1.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158 over the last ninety days. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.