ABN Amro Investment Solutions Grows Holdings in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 93,691 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,142 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions’ holdings in First Solar were worth $18,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,919,991 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $761,396,000 after purchasing an additional 24,206 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its holdings in First Solar by 60.6% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $375,122,000 after purchasing an additional 854,919 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in First Solar by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,215,461 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $578,791,000 after purchasing an additional 189,626 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in First Solar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $392,040,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in First Solar by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,427,105 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $372,803,000 after purchasing an additional 100,908 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR stock opened at $206.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $250.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $227.94. First Solar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $171.99 and a 52-week high of $320.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.95 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In related news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 4,815 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 89,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,029,435.19. This trade represents a 5.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $145,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,241,750. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 31,893 shares of company stock worth $7,893,775. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FSLR. UBS Group upped their price objective on First Solar from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of First Solar in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on First Solar from $252.00 to $237.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Freedom Capital raised shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Solar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One research 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.10.

Trending Headlines about First Solar

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

• Positive Sentiment: First Solar continues to draw attention from investors and analysts because of its growth in U.S. solar manufacturing and exposure to domestic solar demand. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several law firms issued reminder notices about the pending securities class action and the August 24 deadline for investors to seek lead-plaintiff status. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Pomerantz announced that a class action has been filed against First Solar and certain officers, alleging securities-law violations tied to the class period. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The lawsuit and repeated legal notices highlight alleged misrepresentations about module production underutilization and the challenges of onshoring operations, which can weigh on investor sentiment and raise litigation risk. Article Title

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.