Orion Capital Management LLC Sells 150 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Orion Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,840 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FSLR. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in First Solar in the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on First Solar from $191.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on First Solar from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $267.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.30.

First Solar Stock Performance

First Solar stock opened at $167.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.40, 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.67. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.56 and a 1-year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.55). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The business had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $863.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $50,825.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 17,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,353,197.50. The trade was a 2.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $30,628.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 52,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,066,815. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by 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.