Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Stake in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,444,103 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 277,876 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.13% of First Solar worth $3,512,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 60.6% during 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. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 2,663.8% during the 4th quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 666,307 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $174,059,000 after purchasing an additional 642,199 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 38.6% during 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. Atreides Management LP purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,134,000. Finally, Clean Energy Transition LLP boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 48.2% during 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 14,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.97, for a total value of $2,820,776.82. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,999,100. This trade represents a 31.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $120,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,863 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,230. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 76,562 shares of company stock worth $15,042,232. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on FSLR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, March 27th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $211.00 target price (down from $280.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $320.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $316.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.49.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR opened at $195.86 on Wednesday. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.09 and a twelve month high of $285.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $200.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.22 by ($0.38). First Solar had a net margin of 29.28% and a return on equity of 17.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.37 EPS for the current fiscal 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.