Avalon Trust Co Decreases Stake in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Avalon Trust Co reduced its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLRFree Report) by 84.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,420 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 110,500 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in First Solar were worth $4,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in First Solar by 29.3% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,138,473 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $224,540,000 after acquiring an additional 258,204 shares during the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,697,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 1,054.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 52,219 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $13,641,000 after purchasing an additional 47,695 shares in the last quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $5,304,000. Finally, Genus Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,525,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore raised their target price on shares of First Solar from $212.00 to $219.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of First Solar from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of First Solar from $243.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of First Solar from $300.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $252.00 to $237.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.41.

Check Out Our Latest Report on FSLR

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR stock opened at $211.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $251.39 and its 200 day moving average is $229.14. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $167.60 and a 52 week high of $320.95. 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 (NASDAQ:FSLRGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.54 earnings per share for the current year.

More First Solar News

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

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $145,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,241,750. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total value of $107,383.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 30,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,622,428.56. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 31,893 shares of company stock worth $7,893,775 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR)

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