LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lowered its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,325 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 102 shares during the period. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $1,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,821,701 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,259,697,000 after buying an additional 120,289 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,666,242 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $469,154,000 after buying an additional 63,739 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of First Solar by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,359,846 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $415,899,000 after buying an additional 262,482 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of First Solar by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,835,056 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $323,410,000 after buying an additional 223,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of First Solar by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $336,871,000 after buying an additional 426,797 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $466,877.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,798,689.49. This represents a 20.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.08, for a total transaction of $278,481.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $894,181.84. This represents a 23.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,376 shares of company stock worth $2,227,172. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FSLR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of First Solar from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $191.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price (down previously from $245.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.19.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR opened at $144.67 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $150.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.28. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.56 and a 1 year high of $268.12. The stock has a market cap of $15.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.53.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.55). First Solar had a net margin of 29.72% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

About First Solar

First Solar, Inc, a solar technology company, provides photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions in the United States, France, Japan, Chile, and internationally. The company manufactures and sells PV solar modules with a thin film semiconductor technology that provides a lower-carbon alternative to conventional crystalline silicon PV solar modules.