First Solar Falls Less Than Expected On Share Dilution Announcement

First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed offering of up to 9,650,000 shares of its common stock. The 9,650,000 shares to be registered include 5,650,000 shares owned by certain stockholders of the Company. The offering could increase the share count by as much as 13%, which would mean the stock is currently trading at more than 100x 2008 earnings.

With insiders selling most of the shares, the company will not be getting the funds raised and will thus will not be able to use it for growth investments. Coming on the heels of a negative Barron’s article, I am if anything surprised that the shares are not falling further on this news. In after hours trading they are down 2.36% as of 11:10 a.m. EST, far less than the dilution that will occur after the offering.

FSLR 1-yr chart: