Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Purchases New Stake in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 7,992 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,323,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in First Solar by 10.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,437 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $3,216,000 after acquiring an additional 2,510 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 43,991 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,562,000 after purchasing an additional 16,003 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in First Solar in the first quarter worth $272,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. increased its position in First Solar by 18.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. now owns 101,659 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $12,853,000 after buying an additional 15,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in First Solar by 49.3% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 63,251 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $10,471,000 after buying an additional 20,884 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FSLR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on First Solar from $213.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on First Solar from $232.00 to $247.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on First Solar from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of First Solar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $270.17.

First Solar Stock Down 1.6%

FSLR opened at $267.64 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $226.52 and a 200-day moving average of $187.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.56 and a 1-year high of $281.55.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 28.95%.The company’s revenue was up 79.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.91 EPS. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, CAO Nathan B. Theurer sold 686 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.03, for a total transaction of $124,872.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 37,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.01, for a total transaction of $9,914,554.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,087,514.24. The trade was a 70.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,127 shares of company stock worth $15,647,859. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.