Caxton Associates LP Makes New Investment in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Caxton Associates LP bought a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,424 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in First Solar in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, Director Richard D. Chapman sold 3,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.48, for a total value of $602,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,051.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Richard D. Chapman sold 3,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.48, for a total value of $602,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,051.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total value of $4,409,049.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,419,797.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 51,153 shares of company stock valued at $12,540,428. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Down 1.8 %

FSLR stock traded down $4.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $216.34. 1,340,563 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,504,052. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.44. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $247.71 and a 200-day moving average of $193.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.41.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.30. First Solar had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 28.75%. The business had revenue of $794.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $718.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 44.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on First Solar from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on First Solar from $248.00 to $331.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on First Solar from $227.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on First Solar from $271.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.17.

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.