Swedbank AB Increases Position in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 169,838 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,143 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in First Solar were worth $44,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,721,979 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $3,026,108,000 after buying an additional 464,130 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 60.6% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $375,122,000 after purchasing an additional 854,919 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,025,835 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $459,917,000 after purchasing an additional 564,032 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,349,531 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $297,612,000 after purchasing an additional 34,313 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Energy Transition LLP raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 48.2% in the 3rd quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 1,117,228 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $246,382,000 after purchasing an additional 363,274 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FSLR shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $271.00 to $243.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $205.00 to $187.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. DZ Bank raised shares of First Solar to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $228.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $247.40.

First Solar News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting First Solar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: First Solar announced a partnership with GameChange Solar to support wider use of its domestically manufactured thin-film modules in India, a move that could improve demand visibility and reduce supply-chain or compliance concerns. Why First Solar (FSLR) Stock Is Trading Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim raised its price target on First Solar to $279 from $269 and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling continued analyst confidence in the stock’s upside potential. MarketScreener

Insider Activity

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total transaction of $122,046.58. Following the sale, the insider owned 19,918 shares in the company, valued at $4,294,918.34. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $145,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 4,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,241,750. This represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,827 shares of company stock valued at $20,006,930. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $257.85 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $27.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $205.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.96. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.50 and a 1 year high of $285.99. 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 (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.64 EPS for the current year.

First Solar 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.