Swiss National Bank Acquires 20,000 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 7.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 299,200 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in First Solar were worth $59,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of First Solar by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 9,044 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in First Solar by 50.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 516 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in First Solar by 84.3% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,529 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 2,072 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Solar in the second quarter valued at approximately $494,000. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 6.3% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 18,862 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,122,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Solar News Roundup

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on FSLR. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $249.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $252.00 to $237.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. HSBC increased their target price on First Solar from $211.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings raised First Solar from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded First Solar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.10.

First Solar Price Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $206.05 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $171.99 and a 1-year high of $320.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $250.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $227.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.73.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total value of $88,192.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 10,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,244,492.67. The trade was a 3.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total transaction of $90,564.60. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 10,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,349,504.48. This represents a 3.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 31,893 shares of company stock worth $7,893,775. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Solar Company 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.