Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Solar, Inc. by 3.0%, increasing ownership to 13,200,342 shares, valued at approximately $1.67 billion.
• Multiple institutional investors have recently increased their positions in First Solar, with 92.08% of the company's stock now owned by hedge funds and other institutional entities.
• Analysts have set new price targets for First Solar, with upgrades from firms like TD Cowen and Bank of America, indicating a consensus price target of $222.67 and an average rating of Moderate Buy.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,200,342 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 378,641 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.31% of First Solar worth $1,668,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the first quarter worth about $272,000. Leisure Capital Management bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the first quarter worth approximately $1,102,000. Maxi Investments CY Ltd increased its position in shares of First Solar by 602.2% in the first quarter. Maxi Investments CY Ltd now owns 70,590 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $8,925,000 after purchasing an additional 60,537 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 31.6% in the first quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 13,456 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $1,701,000 after purchasing an additional 3,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of First Solar by 549.1% in the first quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 19,647 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $2,484,000 after purchasing an additional 16,620 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Solar Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of FSLR traded up $2.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $184.73. The company had a trading volume of 2,018,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,794,773. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $169.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.07. 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 market capitalization of $19.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.48. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on FSLR. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $275.00 price target (up from $255.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down previously from $245.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of First Solar from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $221.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of First Solar from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Glj Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $214.06 target price (up from $172.53) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $224.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 11,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,798,689.49. The trade was a 20.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,868 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.08, for a total value of $278,481.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $894,181.84. This represents a 23.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,976 shares of company stock valued at $2,515,172. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

About First Solar

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.