First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 69,518 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 26.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 337,041 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 69,518 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.31% of First Solar worth $66,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new position in First Solar in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Saturna Capital Corp grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 33.0% in the first quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 4,268 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. CacheTech Inc. acquired a new stake in First Solar in the first quarter valued at $3,290,000. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. increased its holdings in First Solar by 69.3% in the first quarter. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. now owns 10,746 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 4,398 shares during the period. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions raised its position in First Solar by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 93,691 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $18,481,000 after purchasing an additional 3,142 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting First Solar

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

• Positive Sentiment: Roth Capital reaffirmed its buy rating on First Solar and set a $300 price target, implying meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Industry commentary highlighted record U.S. solar power output and rising electricity demand from AI data centers, which supports the broader solar demand narrative and could benefit First Solar over time. 24/7 Wall St.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms, including Rosen, Howard G. Smith, Schall, Kaplan Fox, Faruqi & Faruqi, and others, reminded investors about pending First Solar securities-fraud class actions and the August 24 lead-plaintiff deadline. PR Newswire
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting showed no meaningful update, with the latest filing indicating zero shares reported short and a days-to-cover ratio of 0.0, so it does not appear to be a current market driver.
• Negative Sentiment: The ongoing securities-fraud litigation headlines create a legal overhang that may pressure the shares until there is more clarity on the case outcome.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on FSLR shares. Argus lifted their target price on First Solar from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised First Solar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of First Solar from $243.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of First Solar from $300.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.10.

First Solar Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $202.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $248.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.15. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $171.99 and a one year high of $320.95.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $145,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,241,750. This represents a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 10,628 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.60, for a total transaction of $2,929,076.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,792 shares in the company, valued at $6,557,075.20. This trade represents a 30.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 31,893 shares of company stock valued at $7,893,775 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.