Chase Investment Counsel Corp Sells 14,604 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Chase Investment Counsel Corp lowered its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 92.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,234 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 14,604 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings in First Solar were worth $243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 292 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 708 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in First Solar by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. raised its position in First Solar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 19,080 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,984,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $206.05 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $250.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $227.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.73. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $171.99 and a 12 month high of $320.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.95 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.54 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on FSLR. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Evercore increased their target price on shares of First Solar from $212.00 to $219.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of First Solar from $213.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Solar from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of 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 issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.10.

More First Solar News

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

In related news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $145,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,241,750. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 566 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 19,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,294,918.34. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 31,893 shares of company stock worth $7,893,775 in the last ninety days. 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.