APG Asset Management N.V. Reduces Holdings in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. has reduced its stake in First Solar, Inc. by 11.7%, selling 7,456 shares and now owning about 56,300 shares valued at $6,590,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Price T Rowe Associates Inc., significantly increased their stakes in First Solar during the fourth quarter, showcasing growing institutional interest.
• Analysts have mixed views on First Solar's stock, with Mizuho boosting its target price to $278.00 while others like Oppenheimer downgraded their rating from "outperform" to "market perform."

APG Asset Management N.V. lessened its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 11.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,300 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 7,456 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. owned about 0.05% of First Solar worth $6,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FSLR. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 101.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 454,709 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $80,139,000 after buying an additional 229,028 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC increased its stake in First Solar by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 706 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its stake in First Solar by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Decade Renewable Partners LP increased its stake in First Solar by 259.5% during the fourth quarter. Decade Renewable Partners LP now owns 65,421 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $11,530,000 after purchasing an additional 47,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in First Solar by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 80,687 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $14,225,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of First Solar from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of First Solar to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $202.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.84.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $466,877.71. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,798,689.49. The trade was a 20.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Nathan B. Theurer sold 686 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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. Insiders sold 46,691 shares of company stock valued at $8,248,477 in the last quarter. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of FSLR opened at $199.44 on Tuesday. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.56 and a 1 year high of $262.72. The company has a market cap of $21.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.48. 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 fifty day moving average of $175.65 and a 200-day moving average of $155.33.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 28.95% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.25 earnings per share. First Solar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-16.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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