Is First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) A Good Stock To Buy?

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Because First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) has faced a decline in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there exists a select few money managers that decided to sell off their positions entirely by the end of the third quarter. At the top of the heap, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group said goodbye to the biggest position of the 700 funds monitored by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $12.6 million worth of options. Joel Greenblatt’s fund, Gotham Asset Management, also dumped its holding, about $7.6 million worth of FSLR shares. These moves are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 7 funds by the end of the third quarter.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Keysight Technologies Inc (NYSE:KEYS), Sun Communities Inc (NYSE:SUI), Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE:SNH), and United Microelectronics Corp (ADR) (NYSE:UMC). This group of stocks’ market caps are closest to FSLR’s market cap.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
KEYS 14 144383 -1
SUI 17 236373 -5
SNH 13 83107 -3
UMC 8 31362 -1

As you can see these stocks had an average of 13 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $124 million. That figure was $246 million in FSLR’s case. Sun Communities Inc (NYSE:SUI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand United Microelectronics Corp (ADR) (NYSE:UMC) is the least popular one with only 8 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.

Disclosure: none.

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