Short Interest in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Rises By 27.6%

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,100,000 shares, a growth of 27.6% from the November 30th total of 6,350,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 8.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on FSLR shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on First Solar from $329.00 to $297.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $321.00 to $269.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $274.00 to $257.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.04.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in First Solar by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 356 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in First Solar by 0.6% during the third quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,698 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in First Solar by 0.5% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,172 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,068,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Solar by 2.8% during the third quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in First Solar by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 916 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $178.07 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $216.52. First Solar has a one year low of $135.88 and a one year high of $306.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.10 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.15 EPS for the current year.

First Solar Company 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.