Investors Purchase High Volume of First Solar Call Options (NASDAQ:FSLR)

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 36,233 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 13% compared to the average daily volume of 32,137 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $317,399,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in First Solar by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $523,166,000 after buying an additional 904,498 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its stake in First Solar by 17,404.5% in the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $127,379,000 after buying an additional 718,631 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC increased its stake in First Solar by 961.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $113,906,000 after buying an additional 585,394 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in First Solar by 1,757.2% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 546,193 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $136,242,000 after buying an additional 516,783 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $156.84 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.47. First Solar has a 1-year low of $144.28 and a 1-year high of $306.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $199.08.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($1.16). The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FSLR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $311.00 to $279.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho upgraded shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $252.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.00.

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.