Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Buys 15,656 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Key Points

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Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 18.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,659 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 15,656 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. owned 0.09% of First Solar worth $12,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in First Solar in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in First Solar by 591.9% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 256 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Advisors acquired a new stake in First Solar during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in First Solar in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in First Solar in the 1st quarter valued at about $51,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of First Solar from $194.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp cut First Solar from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen raised their target price on First Solar from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wolfe Research raised First Solar from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $221.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on First Solar from $191.00 to $177.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $222.44.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR traded down $14.44 during trading on Thursday, hitting $192.00. 5,216,675 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,359,016. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.56 and a 1-year high of $262.72. The company has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business's 50 day moving average is $174.62 and its 200-day moving average is $155.00.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 28.95%.First Solar's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.25 EPS. First Solar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-16.500 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.05, for a total value of $1,481,812.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 8,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,246,136.85. This represents a 54.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $466,877.71. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,798,689.49. This represents a 20.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,691 shares of company stock valued at $8,248,477. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.