3,528 Shares in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR Acquired by Collaborative Fund Advisors LLC

Collaborative Fund Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,528 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $696,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in First Solar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 117.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 102 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FSLR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of First Solar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $205.00 to $187.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Solar from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on First Solar from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.78.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $224.57 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $24.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.73. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $159.85 and a 1-year high of $320.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $247.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $231.89.

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

Key Stories Impacting First Solar

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

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total transaction of $107,383.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 30,712 shares in the company, valued at $6,622,428.56. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 9,926 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 95,148 shares in the company, valued at $22,189,465.08. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 32,466 shares of company stock valued at $8,014,105 over the last 90 days. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About First Solar

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.