Bank of New York Mellon Corp Has $184.20 Million Stock Position in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 705,131 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 48,362 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in First Solar were worth $184,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the second quarter worth $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of First Solar by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 102 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the third quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FSLR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on First Solar from $258.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on First Solar from $286.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on First Solar from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Argus raised their price objective on First Solar from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on First Solar from $280.00 to $250.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 566 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total value of $122,046.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,294,918.34. The trade was a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 4,815 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.43, for a total value of $1,191,375.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 89,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,029,435.19. The trade was a 5.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 76,480 shares of company stock valued at $16,668,515 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Down 11.4%

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $279.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $29.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.02, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.71. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.56. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.50 and a fifty-two week high of $320.95.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.95 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current year.

About First Solar

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.