Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $6.84 Million in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 28,998 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $6,842,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in First Solar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,310,298,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,919,991 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $761,396,000 after buying an additional 24,206 shares during the last quarter. Hill City Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the second quarter valued at approximately $620,133,555. Viking Global Investors LP raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 60.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,215,461 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $578,791,000 after acquiring an additional 189,626 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna raised their price target on First Solar from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Citigroup cut shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $229.00 target price (down from $249.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.27.

First Solar Trading Down 1.1%

FSLR opened at $199.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $21.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.74. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $221.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.02. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $182.99 and a 12-month high of $320.95.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $1.02. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.47% and a return on equity of 18.02%. The company’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.18 EPS. On average, analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, EVP Samantha L. Sloan sold 127 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.95, for a total value of $28,314.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $449,913.10. This represents a 5.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 3,700 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $922,706.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 5,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,402,513.12. The trade was a 39.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,081 shares of company stock worth $3,457,086. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.