Banco Santander S.A. Reduces Stock Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. reduced its holdings in First Solar, Inc. by 20.2%, selling 2,197 shares and leaving it with 8,656 shares valued at approximately $1.09 million.
• Recent quarterly earnings showed First Solar reported $3.18 EPS, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.68, contributing to an 8.6% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Analyst ratings for First Solar are generally positive, with twenty-three buy ratings and an average price target of $221.90, indicating strong market confidence.

Banco Santander S.A. cut its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 20.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,656 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 2,197 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in First Solar were worth $1,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of FSLR. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,835,056 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $323,410,000 after acquiring an additional 223,933 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,748,603 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $308,174,000 after purchasing an additional 137,901 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,450,914 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $255,709,000 after acquiring an additional 120,239 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,249,600 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $220,250,000 after acquiring an additional 261,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in First Solar by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,248,552 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $220,045,000 after buying an additional 293,134 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FSLR. TD Cowen upped their price objective on First Solar from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wolfe Research raised First Solar from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $221.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on First Solar from $267.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $194.00 price objective on First Solar and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on First Solar from $185.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.67.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.05, for a total transaction of $1,481,812.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 8,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,246,136.85. The trade was a 54.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,868 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.08, for a total value of $278,481.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at $894,181.84. The trade was a 23.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,976 shares of company stock worth $2,515,172 in the last quarter. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Solar Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR traded down $1.83 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $185.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,757,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,724,340. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.83, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.48. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.56 and a fifty-two week high of $262.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 28.95% and a return on equity of 15.57%. First Solar's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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.