Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $1.08 Million Stock Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its holdings in First Solar, Inc. by 15.5%, selling 1,575 shares, and their current ownership is valued at $1,084,000.
• In contrast, other institutional investors such as Cetera Investment Advisers and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. have increased their stakes in First Solar, reflecting a heightened interest in the company.
• Despite mixed analyst ratings with a majority being positive, KeyCorp downgraded First Solar to an "underweight" rating with a price target of $100, while Mizuho set a higher price target of $278.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC cut its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,572 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 1,575 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in First Solar were worth $1,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,933,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 55.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,320 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,254 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 24,302 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $4,283,000 after acquiring an additional 7,051 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 58,796 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $10,362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $115,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on First Solar from $204.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on First Solar from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho upped their price objective on First Solar from $275.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective on First Solar from $185.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded First Solar to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.05, for a total transaction of $1,481,812.85. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 8,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,246,136.85. The trade was a 54.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $466,877.71. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,369 shares in the company, valued at $1,798,689.49. This trade represents a 20.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,684 shares of company stock valued at $7,660,704 over the last ninety days. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of First Solar stock traded up $19.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $199.95. The stock had a trading volume of 10,927,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,393,773. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $21.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $171.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.81. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.56 and a fifty-two week high of $262.72.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.