Two Seas Capital LP Sells 56,433 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Two Seas Capital LP trimmed its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 284,259 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 56,433 shares during the quarter. First Solar accounts for about 1.5% of Two Seas Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Two Seas Capital LP’s holdings in First Solar were worth $74,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 70.2% in the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 150,379 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $33,163,000 after buying an additional 62,048 shares during the period. Atlatl Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,697,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 3.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,721,979 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,026,108,000 after buying an additional 464,130 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 77.4% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 175,766 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $38,762,000 after buying an additional 76,693 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 1,054.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 52,219 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $13,641,000 after buying an additional 47,695 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FSLR shares. Barclays cut their price target on First Solar from $228.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wolfe Research cut First Solar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $271.00 to $243.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $205.00 to $187.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $303.00 to $256.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.40.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $279.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.15. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.50 and a 1 year high of $320.95.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.95 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In related news, insider Georges Antoun sold 566 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 value of $122,046.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 19,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,294,918.34. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,241,750. The trade was a 10.49% 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 76,480 shares of company stock worth $16,668,515 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.