First Hawaiian Bank Sells 1,874 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Key Points

• First Hawaiian Bank reduced its holdings in First Solar, Inc. by 38%, selling 1,874 shares, now owning 3,052 shares worth $386,000.
• Multiple institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in First Solar, with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosting its holdings by 16,857.8% to over 759,000 shares.
• First Solar recently reported strong earnings, posting $3.18 EPS for the quarter, surpassing expectations and leading to multiple upgrades in analyst ratings and price targets.

First Hawaiian Bank lowered its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 38.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,052 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 1,874 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank's holdings in First Solar were worth $386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar in the first quarter worth approximately $114,730,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in First Solar by 16,857.8% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 759,033 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $95,965,000 after purchasing an additional 754,557 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 32.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,427,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $306,909,000 after purchasing an additional 592,444 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in First Solar by 22,107.8% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 512,556 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $64,802,000 after purchasing an additional 510,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hill City Capital LP boosted its holdings in First Solar by 59.4% in the first quarter. Hill City Capital LP now owns 1,355,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $171,313,000 after purchasing an additional 505,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 2,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.44, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 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 sold a total of 32,315 shares of company stock valued at $6,021,305 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

First Solar Price Performance

First Solar stock opened at $207.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.41. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.56 and a 1 year high of $262.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $188.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.94.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.25 EPS. First Solar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-16.500 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FSLR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of First Solar to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $202.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group restated 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.84.

First Solar Company 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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