Raiffeisen Bank International AG Reduces Position in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Raiffeisen Bank International AG decreased its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 177,630 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 3,320 shares during the quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG owned 0.17% of First Solar worth $27,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 26.0% during the second quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 26,400 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,370,000 after purchasing an additional 5,441 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in First Solar by 112.5% in the 2nd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 391 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in First Solar by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 9,166 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,517,000 after buying an additional 1,807 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,341 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,864,000 after buying an additional 5,789 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 26,302 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $4,354,000 after buying an additional 1,819 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on FSLR. Susquehanna increased their target price on First Solar from $273.00 to $285.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $269.00 price target on shares of First Solar and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of First Solar from $240.90 to $241.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $209.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.79.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $253.08 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $232.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market cap of $27.16 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.51. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.56 and a 1 year high of $281.55.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.32 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during 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%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 79.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.91 EPS. First Solar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.000-15.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, Director Paul H. Stebbins sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.40, for a total value of $1,836,800.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,011,308.80. The trade was a 31.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 37,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.01, for a total transaction of $9,914,554.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,087,514.24. The trade was a 70.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,912 shares of company stock valued at $12,971,349. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.