United Services Automobile Association Purchases New Shares in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association acquired 2,425 shares of First Solar, Inc. ($FSLR) in Q1, valued at approximately $309,000.
• Hedge fund activity increased significantly, with institutions like Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raising their stake by 16,857.8% and owning over 92% of the company's stock.
• First Solar's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $3.18 earnings per share and a revenue of $1.10 billion, marking an 8.6% increase compared to the previous year.

United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,425 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the first quarter worth $114,730,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 16,857.8% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 759,033 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $95,965,000 after purchasing an additional 754,557 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 32.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,427,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $306,909,000 after purchasing an additional 592,444 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 22,107.8% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 512,556 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $64,802,000 after purchasing an additional 510,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hill City Capital LP raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 59.4% in the first quarter. Hill City Capital LP now owns 1,355,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $171,313,000 after purchasing an additional 505,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $288,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $791,640. This represents a 26.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Nathan B. Theurer sold 686 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.03, for a total value of $124,872.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,315 shares of company stock valued at $6,021,305 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $194.00 price target on First Solar and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded First Solar to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on First Solar from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on First Solar from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on First Solar from $203.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "positive" 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, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.84.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of FSLR opened at $201.70 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.30. The stock has a market cap of $21.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.41. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during 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%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.25 earnings per share. First Solar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-16.500 EPS. On average, analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

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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