Leonteq Securities AG Purchases Shares of 5,808 First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Key Points

• Leonteq Securities AG disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in First Solar, buying 5,808 shares valued at about $1.52 million.
• First Solar reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.22 versus $2.87 estimated and revenue of $1.04 billion, up 23.6% year over year.
• Despite strong fundamentals, several analysts trimmed price targets on the stock, and insiders have recently sold shares, even as institutional investors own 92.08% of the company.

Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,808 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $1,517,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,721,979 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $3,026,108,000 after buying an additional 464,130 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 60.6% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $375,122,000 after buying an additional 854,919 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,025,835 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $459,917,000 after buying an additional 564,032 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,349,531 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $297,612,000 after buying an additional 34,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clean Energy Transition LLP lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 1,117,228 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $246,382,000 after buying an additional 363,274 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company's stock.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $248.88 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.50 and a twelve month high of $285.99. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.57.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last issued 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 previous year, the company earned $1.95 EPS. The business's revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.64 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.02, for a total value of $312,026.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,525,396.96. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael Koralewski sold 215 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total transaction of $46,360.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,157,254.46. This represents a 1.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 92,430 shares of company stock worth $18,670,055. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $271.00 to $243.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $320.00 to $253.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Solar from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $285.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $247.40.

First Solar 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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