Boston Common Asset Management LLC Sells 8,771 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Key Points

• Boston Common Asset Management LLC reduced its position in First Solar by 15.5%, selling 8,771 shares during the 2nd quarter, leaving them with a total of 47,786 shares valued at approximately $7.91 million.
• Several hedge funds have recently increased their holdings in First Solar, with Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. leading the way with an impressive 396.5% increase in their position during the 1st quarter.
• First Solar's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $3.18, surpassing estimates, and the company is projecting FY 2025 EPS guidance between $13.500 and $16.500.

Boston Common Asset Management LLC reduced its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,786 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 8,771 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in First Solar were worth $7,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in First Solar by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,437 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $3,216,000 after buying an additional 2,510 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in First Solar by 396.5% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 11,777 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,489,000 after buying an additional 9,405 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in First Solar by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 48,722 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $6,160,000 after buying an additional 3,226 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in First Solar by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 189,320 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $23,936,000 after buying an additional 23,528 shares during the period. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 9,682 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Solar from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $275.00 price objective (up from $255.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Glj Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $214.06 price objective (up from $172.53) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of First Solar in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of First Solar to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $231.04.

First Solar Stock Down 0.9%

First Solar stock opened at $230.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $116.56 and a 12-month high of $240.60. The firm's fifty day moving average is $201.18 and its 200 day moving average is $168.15. The company has a market capitalization of $24.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.38.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last released 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 for 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%. First Solar's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.25 EPS. First Solar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-16.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 2,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.44, for a total transaction of $462,900.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,326,357.84. The trade was a 2.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Nathan B. Theurer sold 686 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.03, for a total transaction of $124,872.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,715 shares of company stock valued at $5,733,305 in the last 90 days. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About First Solar

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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