First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Short Interest Up 27.6% in December

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of 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. Currently, 8.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,800,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $274.00 to $257.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim dropped their target price on First Solar from $368.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on First Solar from $271.00 to $266.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of First Solar from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.04.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $182.63 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $217.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. First Solar has a 12 month low of $135.88 and a 12 month high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted 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). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The business had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Solar will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in First Solar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in First Solar by 411.1% in the second quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

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.