Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Buys 7,333 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 112,125 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 7,333 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of First Solar worth $29,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in First Solar during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in First Solar by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 102 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on FSLR. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on First Solar from $275.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on First Solar from $303.00 to $256.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on First Solar from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (down from $264.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded First Solar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.88.

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR stock opened at $271.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $29.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $230.60 and its 200 day moving average is $233.42. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.50 and a 52 week high of $320.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.56.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 9,926 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.21, for a total value of $2,314,842.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 95,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,189,465.08. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 10,628 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.60, for a total value of $2,929,076.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 23,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,557,075.20. This represents a 30.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 60,694 shares of company stock valued at $13,659,583. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.