Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 5,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,085,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $392,040,000. Viking Global Investors LP raised its holdings in First Solar by 60.6% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $375,122,000 after buying an additional 854,919 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc purchased a new stake in First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at $200,109,000. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. lifted its position in First Solar by 2,663.8% in the fourth quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 666,307 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $174,059,000 after buying an additional 642,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in First Solar by 38.6% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,025,835 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $459,917,000 after buying an additional 564,032 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 9,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.21, for a total transaction of $2,314,842.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 95,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,189,465.08. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 498 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total transaction of $107,383.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 30,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,622,428.56. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,466 shares of company stock worth $8,014,105. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSLR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $300.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of First Solar from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.78.

First Solar News Roundup

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

• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms, including Rosen, Schall, Kaplan Fox, Pomerantz, and others, urged First Solar shareholders to act on a securities fraud/class action lawsuit ahead of the August 24 deadline. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A class action has already been filed alleging First Solar and certain officers violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) and Rule 10b-5, increasing legal overhang on the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: One market update noted First Solar stock recently fell in trading, with the decline adding to near-term weakness already reflected in the shares. Article Title

First Solar Price Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $224.57 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $159.85 and a twelve month high of $320.95. The company has a market cap of $24.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $247.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

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

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.