Irenic Capital Management LP Takes Position in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Irenic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 7,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,829,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 102 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FSLR. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $252.00 to $237.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $300.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.78.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In related news, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 409 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total transaction of $88,192.67. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 10,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,244,492.67. This represents a 3.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 10,628 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.60, for a total transaction of $2,929,076.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 23,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,557,075.20. The trade was a 30.88% decrease in their position. 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 have sold a total of 32,466 shares of company stock valued at $8,014,105 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Down 3.6%

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $254.80 on Thursday. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.26 and a 52 week high of $320.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $236.08 and a 200 day moving average of $233.38. 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 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.95 earnings per share. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.