Saturna Capital Corp Lowers Stock Position in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Saturna Capital Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 35.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,943 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 2,170 shares during the period. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in First Solar were worth $653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in First Solar by 0.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,257,849 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,194,704,000 after acquiring an additional 57,507 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,857,848 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $471,927,000 after purchasing an additional 26,476 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 17.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,765,303 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $349,617,000 after purchasing an additional 405,457 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 32.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,427,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $306,909,000 after buying an additional 592,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC grew its position in First Solar by 6.3% during the first quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 1,741,794 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $220,215,000 after buying an additional 103,403 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FSLR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $278.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. DZ Bank downgraded First Solar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho boosted their target price on First Solar from $278.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Seaport Global Securities upped their target price on First Solar from $217.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $300.00 price target on First Solar in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.79.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $252.19 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.56 and a fifty-two week high of $281.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $234.80 and a 200-day moving average of $194.92. The stock has a market cap of $27.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.51.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 28.95% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 79.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.91 EPS. First Solar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.000-15.000 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul H. Stebbins sold 7,000 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.40, for a total transaction of $1,836,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,287 shares in the company, valued at $4,011,308.80. The trade was a 31.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 37,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.01, for a total transaction of $9,914,554.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,087,514.24. This represents a 70.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 48,912 shares of company stock valued at $12,971,349 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Profile

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.