Empirical Finance LLC Buys 7,326 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 383.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,235 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 7,326 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $1,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Solar during the first quarter worth about $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in First Solar by 126.9% in the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 152 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in First Solar by 138.9% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 172 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in First Solar by 69.4% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 183 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in First Solar by 591.9% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 256 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 219 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, Director Paul H. Stebbins sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.40, for a total transaction of $1,836,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,287 shares in the company, valued at $4,011,308.80. This trade represents a 31.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 37,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.01, for a total transaction of $9,914,554.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,087,514.24. The trade was a 70.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,912 shares of company stock valued at $12,971,349. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $251.87 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.31. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.56 and a fifty-two week high of $281.55. The company has a market capitalization of $27.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.90.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.32 by ($0.08). First Solar had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 28.95%.The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.91 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 79.7% on a year-over-year basis. First Solar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.000-15.000 EPS. Analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on shares of First Solar from $150.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of First Solar to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on First Solar from $278.00 to $335.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on First Solar from $198.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.79.

First Solar Company Profile

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.