Legal & General Group Plc Has $160.91 Million Position in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its First Solar stake by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, but still held 615,950 shares valued at about $160.9 million.
• First Solar beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting EPS of $3.22 versus $2.87 expected, while revenue rose 23.6% year over year to $1.04 billion.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $251.37, even as some firms adjusted their targets and ratings.

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 615,950 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 42,935 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.57% of First Solar worth $160,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 3.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,721,979 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $3,026,108,000 after purchasing an additional 464,130 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 60.6% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $375,122,000 after purchasing an additional 854,919 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 38.6% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,025,835 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $459,917,000 after acquiring an additional 564,032 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 2.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,349,531 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $297,612,000 after acquiring an additional 34,313 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Energy Transition LLP boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 48.2% in the third quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 1,117,228 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $246,382,000 after acquiring an additional 363,274 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FSLR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $300.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $211.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $300.00 to $243.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of First Solar from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $251.37.

First Solar Trading Up 1.4%

FSLR opened at $273.67 on Thursday. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.50 and a twelve month high of $285.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $230.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.57.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. First Solar's revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In related news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $145,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,967 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,241,750. This represents a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 566 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total transaction of $122,046.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,294,918.34. This trade represents a 2.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 97,827 shares of company stock valued at $20,006,930 over the last three months. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Solar Company Profile

First Solar, Inc NASDAQ: FSLR is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin‑film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility‑scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.

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