New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Stake in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 91,387 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 444 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.09% of First Solar worth $15,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 127.5% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 87,069 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $14,413,000 after purchasing an additional 48,797 shares in the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the second quarter valued at about $240,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 6.3% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,877 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the second quarter worth about $327,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 2,116.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 45,489 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $7,530,000 after acquiring an additional 43,437 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSLR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on First Solar from $283.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of First Solar from $212.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $202.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $240.56.

First Solar Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of FSLR opened at $231.85 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.56 and a 1-year high of $248.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $210.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.38.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 28.95% and a return on equity of 15.57%. First Solar’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.25 earnings per share. First Solar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-16.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 2,321 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 81,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,326,357.84. The trade was a 2.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Nathan B. Theurer sold 686 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.03, for a total transaction of $124,872.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,715 shares of company stock worth $5,733,305 over the last 90 days. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.