Tidal Investments LLC Trims Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Tidal Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,418 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 109 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $3,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 147.9% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 2,749 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 3,333 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. SIR Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter worth about $4,811,000. Sora Investors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter worth about $23,297,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 218.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 446,799 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $78,744,000 after purchasing an additional 306,581 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Glj Research upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $172.37 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup dropped their price target on First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.30.

First Solar Trading Up 1.4%

First Solar stock opened at $167.22 on Wednesday. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $116.56 and a 12-month high of $306.77. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $17.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.67.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its 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). 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 analyst estimates of $863.11 million. During the same quarter 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, equities research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of First Solar 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 $30,628.75. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 363 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $48,551.25. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 22,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,979,013.75. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 over the last 90 days. 0.48% of the stock is currently 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.