Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Boosts Position in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA raised its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 21.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,802 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,270 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings in First Solar were worth $9,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FSLR. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of First Solar in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,085,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in First Solar during the first quarter valued at approximately $759,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in First Solar by 140.7% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,428 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $873,000 after acquiring an additional 2,588 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC lifted its holdings in First Solar by 16.6% in the first quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 1,405 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC lifted its holdings in First Solar by 40.7% in the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on FSLR. Zacks Research upgraded First Solar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised First Solar from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on First Solar from $205.00 to $187.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.78.

Key Headlines Impacting First Solar

Here are the key news stories impacting First Solar this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Several firms, including Howard G. Smith, Bronstein Gewirtz & Grossman, Rosen Law, Pomerantz, Portnoy, and the Schall Law Firm, announced or promoted class-action cases tied to First Solar, increasing legal overhang and headline risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities-fraud investigations were also launched or reiterated by plaintiff firms, suggesting investors are actively probing whether earlier company disclosures may have been misleading. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: One Zacks item called First Solar a strong growth stock, which is supportive on fundamentals, but it appears to be a generic rating piece rather than a new company-specific catalyst. Article Title

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 10,628 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.60, for a total transaction of $2,929,076.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,557,075.20. This represents a 30.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $145,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,241,750. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 32,466 shares of company stock worth $8,014,105 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Price Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $239.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $243.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.11. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.54 and a 12 month high of $320.95. The firm has a market cap of $25.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Solar Company Profile

First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin‑film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility‑scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.