First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Sold by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC lowered its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,852 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 151 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 548,058 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $94,419,000 after buying an additional 20,946 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 504.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 399,650 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $68,852,000 after purchasing an additional 333,496 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,040,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,945,549,000 after purchasing an additional 279,424 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in First Solar by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,020,527 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $175,816,000 after buying an additional 16,756 shares during the period. Finally, Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its position in First Solar by 304,592.2% during the 4th quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $26,771,000 after buying an additional 155,342 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FSLR. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $268.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $248.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of First Solar from $195.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on First Solar from $224.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.52.

First Solar Trading Down 9.8 %

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $225.46 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.49. The stock has a market cap of $24.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.48. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.30. First Solar had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The company had revenue of $794.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $421,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at $922,740. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $421,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $922,740. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $422,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,584,512. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,490 shares of company stock worth $13,301,803. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About First Solar

First Solar, Inc, a solar technology company, provides photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions in the United States, France, Japan, Chile, and internationally. The company manufactures and sells PV solar modules with a thin film semiconductor technology that provides a lower-carbon alternative to conventional crystalline silicon PV solar modules.