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

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,100,000 shares, an increase of 27.6% from the November 30th total of 6,350,000 shares. Approximately 8.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $178.07 on Tuesday. First Solar has a 52 week low of $135.88 and a 52 week 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $194.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $216.52. The stock has a market cap of $19.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.46.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $200.00 to $254.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 25th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on First Solar from $271.00 to $266.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on First Solar from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.04.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in First Solar during the third quarter valued at about $18,406,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 10.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 131,634 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $32,835,000 after acquiring an additional 12,439 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 24,553 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,125,000 after acquiring an additional 6,135 shares in the last quarter. Blankinship & Foster LLC acquired a new position in First Solar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $935,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc grew its position in First Solar by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 12,449 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $3,105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Solar

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.