Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 83,776 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 622,800 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 83,776 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.58% of First Solar worth $137,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,721,979 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,026,108,000 after purchasing an additional 464,130 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in First Solar by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,326,082 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $881,680,000 after buying an additional 111,927 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in First Solar by 0.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,857,848 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $471,927,000 after acquiring an additional 26,476 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP raised 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 acquiring an additional 854,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in First Solar by 3.7% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,350,084 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $223,493,000 after acquiring an additional 47,646 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $200.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.08, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.60. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.56 and a twelve month high of $285.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $243.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $235.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.22 by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 29.28%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

First Solar News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major brokers still express conviction: Goldman Sachs remains at a “buy” with a $300 target and several firms (UBS, JPMorgan, TD Cowen, Wells Fargo) kept buy/overweight stances despite cutting targets — signaling that analysts see material upside longer term. Goldman Sachs Maintains Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Idiosyncratic bullish views: some sell‑side and independent commentators frame the post‑earnings drop as a buying opportunity, arguing FSLR’s long‑run positioning in U.S. manufacturing and attractive valuation support staged entries. Seeking Alpha: Buy the Weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry positioning: coverage comparing First Solar to peers (e.g., Enphase) highlights capacity growth and market opportunity, but notes demand visibility must improve to justify elevated multiple — useful context, not a direct catalyst. FSLR vs. ENPH Comparison
• Negative Sentiment: Primary negative driver — weak Q4 and below‑consensus 2026 revenue guidance (management cited project timing, permitting and tariff cost risks). The guidance miss and EPS shortfall sparked the initial sharp decline. Q4 Results & Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Tariff and policy uncertainty: U.S. tariff dynamics and a fresh U.S. decision hitting Indian solar exports (126% tariff story) raise cost/competitive risks and contributed to investor caution. Management flagged tariff impacts in post‑earnings commentary. India Tariff Story
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and price‑target cuts have proliferated (Wolfe Research to hold, Baird reiterated neutral, HSBC reaffirmed hold and multiple firms trimmed targets), adding selling pressure and reducing near‑term conviction. Analyst Rating Moves
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk: Pomerantz LLP announced an investor investigation into First Solar, which can increase short‑term uncertainty and create headline risk. Pomerantz Investigation

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FSLR. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $326.00 to $271.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $292.00 to $280.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their price target on First Solar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $279.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research cut First Solar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.91.

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.