New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $17.03 Million Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 68,260 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 7,385 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.06% of First Solar worth $17,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Solar in the third quarter valued at $437,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 12.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,213 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 12.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,560 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $639,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 10.9% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 104,400 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $26,042,000 after acquiring an additional 10,232 shares during the period. Finally, Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the third quarter valued at about $3,767,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other First Solar news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total transaction of $1,913,418.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $769,896. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FSLR shares. William Blair started coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $329.00 to $297.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 target price (down previously from $286.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.13.

First Solar Price Performance

First Solar stock opened at $215.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.48. First Solar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $306.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $221.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The firm had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current year.

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.