Continuum Advisory LLC Buys Shares of 14,984 First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 14,984 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,956,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 5.8% during the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $753,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC purchased a new position in First Solar in the 1st quarter valued at about $511,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 29.3% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,138,473 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $224,540,000 after purchasing an additional 258,204 shares during the last quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. now owns 198,911 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $39,668,000 after purchasing an additional 16,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 21.5% during the first quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 46,802 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $9,232,000 after buying an additional 8,270 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 10,628 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.60, for a total transaction of $2,929,076.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,557,075.20. This represents a 30.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $145,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,241,750. This represents a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,466 shares of company stock worth $8,014,105. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key First Solar News

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

• Negative Sentiment: Several firms, including Howard G. Smith, Bronstein Gewirtz & Grossman, Rosen Law, Pomerantz, Portnoy, and the Schall Law Firm, announced or promoted class-action cases tied to First Solar, increasing legal overhang and headline risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities-fraud investigations were also launched or reiterated by plaintiff firms, suggesting investors are actively probing whether earlier company disclosures may have been misleading. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: One Zacks item called First Solar a strong growth stock, which is supportive on fundamentals, but it appears to be a generic rating piece rather than a new company-specific catalyst. Article Title

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR opened at $239.07 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $243.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.95. The company has a market cap of $25.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.70. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.54 and a 1 year high of $320.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.56.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $250.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of First Solar from $300.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Guggenheim boosted their price target on First Solar from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore raised their price objective on First Solar from $212.00 to $219.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.78.

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.