First Solar, Inc. $FSLR Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 26.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,905 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 46,070 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.12% of First Solar worth $25,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 117.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 102 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total value of $107,383.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 30,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,622,428.56. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total value of $122,046.58. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,294,918.34. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 31,893 shares of company stock valued at $7,893,775 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about First Solar

Here are the key news stories impacting First Solar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen was reported to have a Buy view on First Solar, which may have supported bullish sentiment around the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: First Solar was highlighted as rising while the broader market dipped, suggesting relative strength and investor demand for the solar name. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary across the sector was described as mixed, which adds some uncertainty but does not appear to have changed the core investment case by itself. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms are promoting a securities class action tied to First Solar, with lead-plaintiff deadlines and allegations of investor losses, which can weigh on sentiment and raise legal overhang concerns. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The newly filed class action and related shareholder notices add legal risk and could pressure the stock if investors focus on potential damages and management scrutiny. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $245.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of First Solar in a report on Monday. Zacks Research raised First Solar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $255.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.10.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $208.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The company has a market cap of $22.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $249.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $227.57. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $171.99 and a 1-year high of $320.95.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.54 EPS for the current year.

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.