Stevens Capital Management LP Takes $1.65 Million Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 9,589 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Baystate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. First Pacific Financial purchased a new position in First Solar in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Estabrook Capital Management acquired a new stake in First Solar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Solar Stock Performance

First Solar stock traded up $3.71 on Friday, hitting $178.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,338,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,076,650. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $232.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $162.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.96. The firm has a market cap of $19.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.41.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 25.03%. The business’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.07) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.34, for a total transaction of $37,085.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.34, for a total value of $37,085.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,584,512. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FSLR has been the subject of a number of research reports. DZ Bank began coverage on First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their target price on First Solar from $224.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI upgraded First Solar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $227.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.36.

First Solar Profile

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.