185,500 Shares in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR Acquired by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 185,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $23,453,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in First Solar by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,437 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $3,216,000 after acquiring an additional 2,510 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in First Solar by 396.5% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 11,777 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after buying an additional 9,405 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in First Solar by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 48,722 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,160,000 after buying an additional 3,226 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in First Solar by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 189,320 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $23,936,000 after buying an additional 23,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its position in First Solar by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 9,682 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,224,000 after buying an additional 1,916 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on FSLR shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $194.00 price objective on First Solar and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on First Solar from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Glj Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $214.06 price objective (up from $172.53) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on First Solar from $202.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 2,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.44, for a total transaction of $462,900.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,326,357.84. This trade represents a 2.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Nathan B. Theurer sold 686 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.03, for a total value of $124,872.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,315 shares of company stock valued at $6,021,305. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Solar Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $201.70 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $116.56 and a 12-month high of $262.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $187.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.30.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.50. First Solar had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 28.95%.The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. First Solar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-16.500 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

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.