Mendon Capital Advisors Corp Takes $1.56 Million Position in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Mendon Capital Advisors Corp purchased a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 7,926 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,563,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,919,991 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $761,396,000 after buying an additional 24,206 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its stake in First Solar by 60.6% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $375,122,000 after buying an additional 854,919 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in First Solar by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,215,461 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $578,791,000 after buying an additional 189,626 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at $392,040,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,427,105 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $372,803,000 after acquiring an additional 100,908 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 10,628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.60, for a total transaction of $2,929,076.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,792 shares in the company, valued at $6,557,075.20. This trade represents a 30.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total value of $88,192.67. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 10,409 shares in the company, valued at $2,244,492.67. This represents a 3.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 31,893 shares of company stock worth $7,893,775 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSLR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore lifted their price target on First Solar from $212.00 to $219.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of First Solar in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.10.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $202.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $248.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.61. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $171.99 and a 12 month high of $320.95.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.54 earnings per share for the current year.

First Solar News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Roth Capital reaffirmed its buy rating on First Solar and set a $300 price target, implying meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Industry commentary highlighted record U.S. solar power output and rising electricity demand from AI data centers, which supports the broader solar demand narrative and could benefit First Solar over time. 24/7 Wall St.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms, including Rosen, Howard G. Smith, Schall, Kaplan Fox, Faruqi & Faruqi, and others, reminded investors about pending First Solar securities-fraud class actions and the August 24 lead-plaintiff deadline. PR Newswire
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting showed no meaningful update, with the latest filing indicating zero shares reported short and a days-to-cover ratio of 0.0, so it does not appear to be a current market driver.
• Negative Sentiment: The ongoing securities-fraud litigation headlines create a legal overhang that may pressure the shares until there is more clarity on the case outcome.

First Solar 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.