Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Cuts Stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,743 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 3,841 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in First Solar were worth $6,877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FSLR. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in First Solar by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 445 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its stake in First Solar by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,213 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at about $354,000. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in First Solar by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 32,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,513,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in First Solar by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 27,894 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,806,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Up 1.0 %

First Solar stock traded up $2.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $222.54. 336,815 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,497,301. The company has a market cap of $23.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.44. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $306.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $247.71 and a 200-day moving average of $193.53.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.30. First Solar had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The company had revenue of $794.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 44.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.58 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on FSLR shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $227.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $359.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of First Solar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $227.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $219.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $421,460.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $922,740. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $421,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $922,740. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael T. Sweeney sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.50, for a total transaction of $1,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,692 shares in the company, valued at $4,565,262. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 51,153 shares of company stock valued at $12,540,428. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Profile

First Solar, Inc, a solar technology company, provides photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions in the United States, France, Japan, Chile, and internationally. The company manufactures and sells PV solar modules with a thin film semiconductor technology that provides a lower-carbon alternative to conventional crystalline silicon PV solar modules.