Capital Research Global Investors Lowers Holdings in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Key Points

• Capital Research Global Investors cut its stake in First Solar by 26.4% in Q3, selling 270,803 shares and leaving 755,532 shares valued at about $166.6 million.
• Significant insider selling occurred March 9–10 (including CEO Mark Widmar), with insiders offloading 47,761 shares (~$9.28M) in the last 90 days, a near‑term negative for sentiment.
• Analysts are mixed but generally constructive: 20 Buys, 13 Holds and 1 Sell yield a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $249.65 price target, though several firms have recently trimmed targets.

Capital Research Global Investors trimmed its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 755,532 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 270,803 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors owned 0.70% of First Solar worth $166,617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Solar by 3.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,721,979 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $3,026,108,000 after buying an additional 464,130 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in First Solar by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,326,082 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $881,680,000 after acquiring an additional 111,927 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,857,848 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $471,927,000 after acquiring an additional 26,476 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 60.6% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $375,122,000 after acquiring an additional 854,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,350,084 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $223,493,000 after acquiring an additional 47,646 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on FSLR. Susquehanna cut their price objective on First Solar from $292.00 to $280.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Argus dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of First Solar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. DZ Bank raised shares of First Solar to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $285.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $249.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 791 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.36, for a total value of $150,574.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 18,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,575,722.24. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 408 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.70, for a total transaction of $79,845.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,781,065.70. The trade was a 4.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 47,761 shares of company stock worth $9,276,424 in the last ninety days. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting First Solar

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains: Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating (while trimming its price target), signaling confidence in demand and the company’s growth trajectory — this helps underpin buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Broader analyst/backing and coverage (several buys and outperform ratings from firms such as Guggenheim and Goldman cited in recent notes) reinforce a longer‑term bullish view even as some targets were trimmed — supports conviction among growth/value investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context: Zacks notes FSLR rose while the broader market dipped — a near‑term technical/flow event rather than fundamental news. Traders may have rotated into defensible renewable names on the pullback. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Relative performance note: commentary that FSLR has lagged some energy peers in 2026 is more market narrative than company news, but can weigh on sentiment/flows if investors favor cyclical energy winners. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling on March 9–10: multiple senior executives — including CEO Mark Widmar (5,537 shares, ~\$1.05M) and other C‑suite members — sold stock. The breadth of sales can be perceived as reduced insider exposure or opportunistic monetization and is a short‑term negative for investor sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz issued an investor alert investigating claims on behalf of First Solar investors — potential litigation/regulatory scrutiny increases uncertainty and is typically viewed as a near‑term headwind for the stock. Read More.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $200.25 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $230.08 and its 200 day moving average is $236.15. The stock has a market cap of $21.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.65. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.56 and a 1-year high of $285.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.22 by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 29.28%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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