Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD Takes $215,000 Position in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Key Points

• Mount Vernon Associates Inc. has acquired a new position in First Solar, Inc., purchasing 1,300 shares valued at approximately $215,000 during the second quarter.
• Institutional investors currently hold 92.08% of First Solar's stock, highlighting significant interest and support from the investment community.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $231.04 for First Solar, with numerous firms upgrading their ratings and price objectives for the stock recently.

Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,300 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,437 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $3,216,000 after purchasing an additional 2,510 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 396.5% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 11,777 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 9,405 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 48,722 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $6,160,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 189,320 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $23,936,000 after purchasing an additional 23,528 shares during the period. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 9,682 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CAO Nathan B. Theurer sold 686 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.03, for a total value of $124,872.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 2,321 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.44, for a total value of $462,900.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,326,357.84. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,715 shares of company stock valued at $5,733,305. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FSLR shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on First Solar from $212.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen upped their target price on First Solar from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on First Solar from $194.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on First Solar from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded First Solar to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $231.04.

First Solar Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $230.13 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.56 and a fifty-two week high of $240.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.15. The stock has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.38.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.50. First Solar had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 28.95%.The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.25 EPS. The business's 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. On average, analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current 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.

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