CastleKnight Management LP Sells 8,300 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

CastleKnight Management LP lowered its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 20.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 33,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 8,300 shares during the period. CastleKnight Management LP’s holdings in First Solar were worth $8,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in First Solar during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 102 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Down 3.6%

FSLR opened at $254.80 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $236.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.38. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.26 and a twelve month high of $320.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.71.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 9,926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.21, for a total transaction of $2,314,842.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 95,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,189,465.08. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $145,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,241,750. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 32,466 shares of company stock valued at $8,014,105 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FSLR. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of First Solar from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Evercore upped their target price on shares of First Solar from $212.00 to $219.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of First Solar from $211.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Argus upped their target price on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $300.00 to $243.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.78.

First Solar Profile

First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin‑film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility‑scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.