First Solar, Inc. $FSLR Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP lowered its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 3.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 357,702 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 13,615 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.33% of First Solar worth $84,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FSLR. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 292 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC grew its position in First Solar by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 2,026 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its stake in First Solar by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 708 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC increased its stake in First Solar by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 19,080 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,984,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, EVP Samantha L. Sloan sold 127 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.95, for a total value of $28,314.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $449,913.10. This trade represents a 5.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 3,700 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $922,706.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 5,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,402,513.12. The trade was a 39.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,881 shares of company stock valued at $3,617,086. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on FSLR. Mizuho set a $324.00 target price on First Solar in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $300.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. HSBC upgraded shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore reissued a “positive” rating and set a $218.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a report on Monday, August 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.27.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $202.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.74. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $182.99 and a 1 year high of $320.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $220.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.90.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $1.02. First Solar had a net margin of 32.47% and a return on equity of 18.02%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.18 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.77 EPS for the current year.

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.