Brown Advisory Inc. Trims Stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Brown Advisory Inc. lowered its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 16.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,457 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 498 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the 1st quarter worth $45,000. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 117.6% in the 1st quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 105,861 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $13,406,000 after buying an additional 57,219 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its holdings in First Solar by 4,760.8% during the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 7,194 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 7,046 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 6.9% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 22,496 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 27.9% in the 1st quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In related news, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $466,877.71. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,798,689.49. The trade was a 20.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $288,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,640. This represents a 26.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,976 shares of company stock worth $2,515,172 over the last three months. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target (down previously from $245.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on First Solar from $191.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of First Solar from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $221.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on First Solar from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Solar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.87.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $171.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.93. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.56 and a fifty-two week high of $262.72. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.83.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). First Solar had a net margin of 29.72% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $863.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. First Solar’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Solar Profile

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.