Everest Financial Group LLC Purchases Shares of 2,758 First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Everest Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,758 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $544,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FSLR. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,919,991 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $761,396,000 after purchasing an additional 24,206 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP raised its stake in First Solar by 60.6% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $375,122,000 after purchasing an additional 854,919 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in First Solar by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,215,461 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $578,791,000 after purchasing an additional 189,626 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter worth $392,040,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of First Solar by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,427,105 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $372,803,000 after buying an additional 100,908 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 10,628 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.60, for a total value of $2,929,076.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 23,792 shares in the company, valued at $6,557,075.20. This trade represents a 30.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of First Solar 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,241,750. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 31,893 shares of company stock worth $7,893,775 over the last quarter. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about First Solar

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

• Positive Sentiment: Roth Capital reaffirmed its buy rating on First Solar and set a $300 price target, implying meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Industry commentary highlighted record U.S. solar power output and rising electricity demand from AI data centers, which supports the broader solar demand narrative and could benefit First Solar over time. 24/7 Wall St.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms, including Rosen, Howard G. Smith, Schall, Kaplan Fox, Faruqi & Faruqi, and others, reminded investors about pending First Solar securities-fraud class actions and the August 24 lead-plaintiff deadline. PR Newswire
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting showed no meaningful update, with the latest filing indicating zero shares reported short and a days-to-cover ratio of 0.0, so it does not appear to be a current market driver.
• Negative Sentiment: The ongoing securities-fraud litigation headlines create a legal overhang that may pressure the shares until there is more clarity on the case outcome.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on FSLR shares. Barclays lifted their price target on First Solar from $213.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of First Solar in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Evercore raised their price objective on First Solar from $212.00 to $219.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on First Solar from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on First Solar from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.10.

First Solar Stock Performance

First Solar stock opened at $202.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.73. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $171.99 and a 1-year high of $320.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $248.59 and its 200 day moving average is $226.92.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.95 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.54 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.