Bessemer Group Inc. Purchases 256 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,456 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in First Solar by 25.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 49,302 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,289,000 after acquiring an additional 10,110 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 1.5% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 20,887 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,641,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,880,000. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First Solar by 27.9% during the first 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 during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in 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 worth $2,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Roth Capital set a $300.00 price target on First Solar in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price objective (up from $255.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $269.00 price target on First Solar and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on First Solar from $213.00 to $270.00 in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $261.23.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of FSLR opened at $266.94 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.41. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $116.56 and a one year high of $269.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $219.21 and a 200 day moving average of $183.78.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.32 by ($0.08). First Solar had a net margin of 28.95% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.91 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 79.7% on a year-over-year basis. First Solar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.000-15.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CAO Nathan B. Theurer sold 686 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.03, for a total transaction of $124,872.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 2,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.44, for a total value of $462,900.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,326,357.84. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 30,715 shares of company stock worth $5,733,305 over the last three months. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Solar Company 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.