Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP Raises Holdings in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 15.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 45,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,951 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP’s holdings in First Solar were worth $7,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in First Solar during the first quarter worth approximately $114,730,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in First Solar by 16,857.8% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 759,033 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $95,965,000 after acquiring an additional 754,557 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,427,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $306,909,000 after purchasing an additional 592,444 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 22,107.8% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 512,556 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $64,802,000 after acquiring an additional 510,248 shares during the period. Finally, Hill City Capital LP raised its holdings in First Solar by 59.4% during the first quarter. Hill City Capital LP now owns 1,355,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $171,313,000 after purchasing an additional 505,000 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on FSLR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on First Solar from $201.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of First Solar from $278.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. DZ Bank lowered shares of First Solar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $279.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.79.

First Solar Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $253.54 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $233.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market cap of $27.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.51. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.56 and a 1 year high of $281.55.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Georges Antoun sold 37,412 shares of the 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 sale, the insider 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael T. Sweeney sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.11, for a total transaction of $1,219,995.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,662 shares in the company, valued at $3,703,904.82. The trade was a 24.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 48,912 shares of company stock worth $12,971,349 over the last three months. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.