Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Boosts Stock Position in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 32.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,290 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,026 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in First Solar were worth $2,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Solar by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,257,849 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,194,704,000 after purchasing an additional 57,507 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,326,082 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $881,680,000 after buying an additional 111,927 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,857,848 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $471,927,000 after acquiring an additional 26,476 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 60.6% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $375,122,000 after acquiring an additional 854,919 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in First Solar by 3.7% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,350,084 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $223,493,000 after acquiring an additional 47,646 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of First Solar from $289.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $316.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on First Solar from $201.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on First Solar from $240.90 to $241.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.37.

First Solar Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $237.83 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.56 and a 12 month high of $285.99. The stock has a market cap of $25.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.60.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.32 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 27.73% and a return on equity of 16.61%. First Solar’s revenue was up 79.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.91 earnings per share. First Solar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.000-15.000 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, Director Michael T. Sweeney sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.11, for a total value of $1,219,995.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,703,904.82. The trade was a 24.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 37,412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.01, for a total value of $9,914,554.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,424 shares in the company, valued at $4,087,514.24. The trade was a 70.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 48,912 shares of company stock valued at $12,971,349 over the last ninety days. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.