First Solar, Inc. $FSLR Shares Sold by Cresset Asset Management LLC

Cresset Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 23.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,637 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 512 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in First Solar during the first quarter valued at $114,730,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,427,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $306,909,000 after buying an additional 592,444 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Solar by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,200,342 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,668,919,000 after buying an additional 378,641 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in First Solar by 218.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 446,799 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $78,744,000 after acquiring an additional 306,581 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in First Solar by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,248,552 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $220,045,000 after acquiring an additional 293,134 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR stock opened at $196.72 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.61. The company has a market capitalization of $21.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.56 and a fifty-two week high of $262.72.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.50. First Solar had a net margin of 28.95% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.25 EPS. First Solar’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. First Solar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-16.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 2,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.44, for a total value of $462,900.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,861 shares in the company, valued at $16,326,357.84. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $466,877.71. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,134 shares of company stock worth $6,766,664 in the last three months. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $194.00 target price on First Solar and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Mizuho upped their price objective on First Solar from $275.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on First Solar from $204.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of First Solar from $185.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of First Solar from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.84.

About First Solar

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.