Stephens Inc. AR Increases Position in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 34,841 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 2,786 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in First Solar were worth $6,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in First Solar by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,919,991 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $761,396,000 after purchasing an additional 24,206 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP increased its position in shares of First Solar by 60.6% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $375,122,000 after buying an additional 854,919 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of First Solar by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,215,461 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $578,791,000 after buying an additional 189,626 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth $392,040,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,427,105 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $372,803,000 after buying an additional 100,908 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Down 2.1%

First Solar stock traded down $5.00 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $228.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 464,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,425,330. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $248.30 and its 200 day moving average is $231.72. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $159.85 and a 1-year high of $320.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.56.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FSLR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Solar from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $205.00 to $187.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $252.00 to $237.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.06.

Key Stories Impacting First Solar

Here are the key news stories impacting First Solar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on First Solar to $320 from $255 and reiterated an Overweight rating, pointing to potential upside from a pending tariff decision that could favor domestic solar manufacturers. Benzinga / The Fly report
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst enthusiasm has reinforced the stock’s recent strength, with several recent price targets above current trading levels and continued optimism around First Solar’s fundamentals and backlog visibility.
• Neutral Sentiment: One analyst roundup noted First Solar among several names receiving research attention, but did not add any new company-specific operating update.
• Negative Sentiment: First Solar is facing multiple shareholder class-action lawsuit notices alleging securities law violations for purchases made between February 26, 2025 and February 24, 2026, which may keep legal risk in focus for investors. PR Newswire lawsuit notice
• Negative Sentiment: Additional law-firm deadline alerts about the securities class action may create near-term headline pressure, even though they do not change the company’s operations.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In related news, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 10,628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.60, for a total value of $2,929,076.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 23,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,557,075.20. This trade represents a 30.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 9,926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.21, for a total transaction of $2,314,842.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 95,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,189,465.08. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,466 shares of company stock worth $8,014,105. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Solar Profile

First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin‑film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility‑scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.