Grace & White Inc. NY Acquires 2,600 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Key Points

• Grace & White Inc. NY increased its stake in First Solar, acquiring an additional 2,600 shares, raising their total ownership to 81,875 shares, which is approximately 2.5% of their portfolio.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded their price targets for First Solar, with Deutsche Bank raising its target from $225.00 to $255.00 and a consensus price target now sitting at $231.04.
• First Solar reported earnings of $3.18 per share for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.68, while also achieving year-over-year revenue growth of 8.6% to $1.10 billion.

Grace & White Inc. NY raised its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,875 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the quarter. First Solar accounts for approximately 2.5% of Grace & White Inc. NY's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Grace & White Inc. NY owned about 0.08% of First Solar worth $13,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FSLR. Tobam increased its stake in First Solar by 56.6% during the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 23,330 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $2,950,000 after purchasing an additional 8,436 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in First Solar by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,677 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,543 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in First Solar during the 1st quarter valued at $316,000. Dover Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Solar during the 1st quarter valued at $250,000. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Solar by 53.2% during the 1st quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 96,794 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $12,189,000 after purchasing an additional 33,593 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on FSLR shares. Glj Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $214.06 target price (up previously from $172.53) on shares of First Solar in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of First Solar from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of First Solar from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of First Solar from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of First Solar to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $231.04.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $225.91 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $24.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.38. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.56 and a twelve month high of $237.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $206.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.33.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.50. First Solar had a net margin of 28.95% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.25 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 2,321 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,326,357.84. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Nathan B. Theurer sold 686 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,715 shares of company stock worth $5,733,305. 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.

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