Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,534 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $662,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FSLR. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in First Solar in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in First Solar by 117.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 102 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in First Solar during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on FSLR. Weiss Ratings downgraded First Solar from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on First Solar from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. HSBC lifted their target price on First Solar from $211.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of First Solar to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of First Solar from $300.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.78.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR opened at $263.11 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $239.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.24. The company has a market capitalization of $28.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.70. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.26 and a fifty-two week high of $320.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.56.

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

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total value of $107,383.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 30,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,622,428.56. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $145,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,967 shares in the company, valued at $1,241,750. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 in the last 90 days. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.