Samlyn Capital LLC Purchases 103,403 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Key Points

• Samlyn Capital LLC increased its stake in First Solar, Inc. by 6.3%, owning approximately 1.74 million shares, which constitutes about 3.3% of its portfolio.
• Analysts have provided a consensus price target of $225.84 for First Solar, with several upgrades in recent months, including Guggenheim raising their target price to $287.00.
• First Solar reported earnings of $3.18 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenue rising 8.6% compared to the previous year.

Samlyn Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,741,794 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after acquiring an additional 103,403 shares during the quarter. First Solar comprises about 3.3% of Samlyn Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Samlyn Capital LLC owned 1.62% of First Solar worth $220,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its position in First Solar by 1.1% in the first quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 12,873 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $1,628,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in First Solar by 33.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,990 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $1,642,000 after buying an additional 3,257 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in First Solar by 5.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 83,976 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $10,617,000 after buying an additional 4,391 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP grew its position in First Solar by 91.4% during the 1st quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 11,857 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 5,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in First Solar by 97.1% during the 1st quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 650,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $82,180,000 after purchasing an additional 320,282 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on FSLR. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $204.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of First Solar from $203.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of First Solar from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of First Solar to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.84.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In related news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $288,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 4,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $791,640. The trade was a 26.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 2,321 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,315 shares of company stock valued at $6,021,305 over the last quarter. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR traded down $0.15 on Tuesday, hitting $203.06. 1,843,822 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,325,087. The company's 50 day moving average price is $186.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.26. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $116.56 and a one year high of $262.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.41.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.50. First Solar had a net margin of 28.95% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.25 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. First Solar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-16.500 EPS. Research analysts expect 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.