Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 59,743 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 16.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 314,107 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 59,743 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.29% of First Solar worth $70,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,257,053 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,068,991,000 after acquiring an additional 105,236 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in First Solar by 11.1% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,801,916 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $472,963,000 after purchasing an additional 279,719 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in First Solar by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $422,861,000 after buying an additional 351,540 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of First Solar by 1.7% during 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, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 795,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $179,478,000 after acquiring an additional 64,265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Down 0.6 %

FSLR stock opened at $240.45 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $221.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.92. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $306.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a PE ratio of 25.20, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $939.71 million. First Solar had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 17.73%. The company’s revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.6 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on FSLR. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $219.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, May 31st. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $274.00 target price (up previously from $209.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. DZ Bank raised First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total transaction of $1,913,418.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at $769,896. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,885 shares of company stock worth $2,405,757 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.