CacheTech Inc. Acquires New Position in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

CacheTech Inc. acquired a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 16,679 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,290,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 117.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 102 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $206.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.56. The firm has a market cap of $22.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $250.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $227.94. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $171.99 and a one year high of $320.95.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.54 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on FSLR. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of First Solar from $243.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Freedom Capital raised First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on First Solar from $300.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on First Solar from $255.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded First Solar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.10.

First Solar News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: First Solar continues to draw attention from investors and analysts because of its growth in U.S. solar manufacturing and exposure to domestic solar demand. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several law firms issued reminder notices about the pending securities class action and the August 24 deadline for investors to seek lead-plaintiff status. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Pomerantz announced that a class action has been filed against First Solar and certain officers, alleging securities-law violations tied to the class period. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The lawsuit and repeated legal notices highlight alleged misrepresentations about module production underutilization and the challenges of onshoring operations, which can weigh on investor sentiment and raise litigation risk. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 566 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,918 shares in the company, valued at $4,294,918.34. This trade represents a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 10,628 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.60, for a total value 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 $6,557,075.20. The trade was a 30.88% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,893 shares of company stock valued at $7,893,775. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.