First Solar, Inc. $FSLR Holdings Boosted by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 132.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,528 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 8,859 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in First Solar were worth $4,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in First Solar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in First Solar in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY increased its position in shares of First Solar by 550.0% during the 3rd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 221 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Up 6.1%

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $233.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.15. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.50 and a fifty-two week high of $285.99. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $197.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $231.39.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 235 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total transaction of $50,673.05. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,955.78. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 409 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total value of $88,192.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 10,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,244,492.67. The trade was a 3.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 81,204 shares of company stock worth $16,043,186. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $228.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research upgraded First Solar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on First Solar from $300.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on First Solar from $205.00 to $187.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $245.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.10.

First Solar Company Profile

First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin‑film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility‑scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.