Venture Visionary Partners LLC Sells 11,842 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Key Points

• Venture Visionary Partners cut its First Solar position by 55.3%, selling 11,842 shares in the third quarter and retaining 9,568 shares valued at approximately $1.68 million.
• Institutional investors own 92.08% of First Solar, while company insiders sold 16,681 shares worth about $3.76 million over the past quarter.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $266.23 price target. First Solar’s latest quarterly EPS of $3.92 exceeded estimates of $2.90, although revenue declined 3.4% year over year.

Venture Visionary Partners LLC lowered its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 55.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,568 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 11,842 shares during the quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC's holdings in First Solar were worth $1,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,310,298,000. Hill City Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the second quarter worth $620,133,555. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the second quarter worth $212,626,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc purchased a new position in First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at $200,109,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in First Solar in the second quarter valued at $171,043,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In related news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 3,425 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.95, for a total transaction of $749,903.75. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 7,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,635,775.45. This trade represents a 31.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Samantha Sloan sold 127 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.95, for a total value of $28,314.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $449,913.10. This trade represents a 5.92% decrease in their position. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 16,681 shares of company stock worth $3,756,286. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FSLR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on First Solar from $213.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Mizuho set a $324.00 price objective on First Solar in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and set a $229.00 target price (down from $249.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, July 31st. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on First Solar in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded First Solar from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $266.23.

First Solar Price Performance

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $180.13 on Thursday. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $168.60 and a 1 year high of $320.95. The company has a market capitalization of $19.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $206.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.75.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.90 by $1.02. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 32.47%.The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.18 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Solar Company Profile

First Solar, Inc is a solar technology and manufacturing company that designs and produces photovoltaic (PV) solar modules for utility-scale power projects. Unlike conventional crystalline-silicon panels, its modules use thin-film semiconductor technology based on cadmium telluride (CdTe), which the company says can provide advantages in energy yield, temperature performance and lifecycle sustainability.

The company's product portfolio includes its Series 6 and Series 7 thin-film solar modules, along with related services such as technical support, module recycling and end-of-life collection.

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