Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Sells 4,497 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise cut its First Solar stake by 34.8% in the first quarter, selling 4,497 shares and ending with 8,428 shares valued at about $1.66 million.
• First Solar reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.22 topping estimates and revenue of $1.04 billion, up 23.6% year over year.
• Despite the solid earnings, the stock was down 3.8% on Friday, while analysts maintained a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $249.78.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise reduced its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 34.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,428 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 4,497 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in First Solar were worth $1,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Atlatl Advisers LLC purchased a new position in First Solar in the fourth quarter worth $1,697,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 1,054.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 52,219 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $13,641,000 after purchasing an additional 47,695 shares during the last quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth $5,304,000. Genus Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth $4,525,000. Finally, Clean Energy Transition LLP boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 48.2% in the 3rd quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 1,117,228 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $246,382,000 after buying an additional 363,274 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FSLR has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $250.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Glj Research downgraded shares of First Solar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $314.43 to $207.82 in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $228.00 to $213.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $249.78.

First Solar Stock Down 3.8%

FSLR opened at $239.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.71. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $149.54 and a one year high of $320.95. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $243.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.15.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 9,926 shares of First Solar 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 directly owned 95,148 shares in the company, valued at $22,189,465.08. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $145,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,967 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,241,750. This represents a 10.49% 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. Insiders sold 32,466 shares of company stock valued at $8,014,105 in the last 90 days. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting First Solar

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

• Negative Sentiment: Several firms, including Howard G. Smith, Bronstein Gewirtz & Grossman, Rosen Law, Pomerantz, Portnoy, and the Schall Law Firm, announced or promoted class-action cases tied to First Solar, increasing legal overhang and headline risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities-fraud investigations were also launched or reiterated by plaintiff firms, suggesting investors are actively probing whether earlier company disclosures may have been misleading. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: One Zacks item called First Solar a strong growth stock, which is supportive on fundamentals, but it appears to be a generic rating piece rather than a new company-specific catalyst. Article Title

First Solar Company 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.

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