Encompass Capital Advisors LLC Invests $28.29 Million in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 125,464 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $28,287,000. First Solar accounts for 1.5% of Encompass Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caxton Associates LP grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 651.8% in the second quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 10,705 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,414,000 after acquiring an additional 9,281 shares in the last quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 17,032 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $3,840,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,659,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the second quarter worth approximately $1,594,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,568,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on FSLR shares. Clarkson Capital started coverage on First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of First Solar from $268.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday, August 29th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.46.

First Solar Stock Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $241.72 on Thursday. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $306.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The company has a market cap of $25.87 billion, a PE ratio of 25.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.86.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.56. First Solar had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 17.73%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $939.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. First Solar’s revenue was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 1,766 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $382,339.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 1,766 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $382,339.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total transaction of $1,913,418.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,896. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,885 shares of company stock valued at $2,405,757. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.