State of Michigan Retirement System Has $6.24 Million Holdings in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 9.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 37,700 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in First Solar were worth $6,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First Solar during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 126.9% in the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 152 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 138.9% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 172 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of First Solar by 69.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 183 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 591.9% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 256 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FSLR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $316.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $279.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $275.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.09.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, CAO Nathan B. Theurer sold 686 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.03, for a total transaction of $124,872.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 23,912 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.47, for a total transaction of $4,434,958.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,317,279.66. This represents a 21.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 30,715 shares of company stock valued at $5,733,305 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Price Performance

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $262.70 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.70. First Solar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $116.56 and a 52-week high of $275.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market cap of $28.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.38.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 28.95%.First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 79.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.91 earnings per share. First Solar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.000-15.000 EPS. Analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.