Mirova US LLC Grows Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Mirova US LLC increased its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 944,931 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,315 shares during the period. First Solar makes up 1.6% of Mirova US LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Mirova US LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $156,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 3.9% during the first quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 1,658 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 1.4% during the first quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,726 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Harrington Investments INC raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.5% during the second quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 13,278 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.8% during the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 9,257 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in First Solar by 5.1% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, CAO Nathan B. Theurer sold 686 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.03, for a total value of $124,872.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 23,912 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.47, for a total transaction of $4,434,958.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,978 shares in the company, valued at $16,317,279.66. This trade represents a 21.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,715 shares of company stock worth $5,733,305 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR opened at $227.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $24.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.38. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.56 and a 1-year high of $235.87. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.41.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 28.95% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.25 earnings per share. First Solar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-16.500 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FSLR. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 target price (up from $255.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $241.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $203.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.52.

First Solar 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.