Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Takes $272,000 Position in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Key Points

• Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in First Solar, Inc., purchasing 2,150 shares valued at approximately $272,000.
• Insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of First Solar, representing a 20.61% decrease in their ownership.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for First Solar, with Bank of America increasing its target to $201.00, while Wells Fargo reduced theirs to $177.00.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,150 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

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

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, 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 transaction of $466,877.71. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,798,689.49. The trade was a 20.61% 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 Patrick James Buehler sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $288,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,398 shares in the company, valued at $791,640. This trade represents a 26.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,691 shares of company stock valued at $8,248,477 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR traded down $14.44 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $192.00. The stock had a trading volume of 5,216,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,359,016. 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 company has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.48. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $174.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.00. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.56 and a 52 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. 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 fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on FSLR. TD Cowen raised their target price on First Solar from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho raised their target price on First Solar from $275.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $194.00 target price on First Solar and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $275.00 target price (up from $255.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on First Solar from $203.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.44.

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.