Virtu Financial LLC Invests $662,000 in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,534 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $662,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in First Solar during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Capstone Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $212,000. Compound Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,190 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 18,609 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $4,861,000 after purchasing an additional 4,096 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 25,522 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $6,667,000 after purchasing an additional 3,866 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 4,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.43, for a total transaction of $1,191,375.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 89,033 shares in the company, valued at $22,029,435.19. The trade was a 5.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 10,628 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.60, for a total value of $2,929,076.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,792 shares in the company, valued at $6,557,075.20. This represents a 30.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,466 shares of company stock worth $8,014,105. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $263.11 on Tuesday. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.26 and a 52 week high of $320.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $239.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.24. 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 firm has a market cap of $28.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.70.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.95 earnings per share. First Solar’s revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $243.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Argus upped their target price on First Solar from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on First Solar from $286.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. HSBC lifted their price target on First Solar from $211.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.78.

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.