Retirement Systems of Alabama Cuts Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,406 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 206 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in First Solar were worth $5,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in First Solar by 81,947.0% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,669,757 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,729,223,000 after buying an additional 7,660,409 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 75.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $523,166,000 after acquiring an additional 904,498 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 1,757.2% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 546,193 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $136,242,000 after acquiring an additional 516,783 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in First Solar by 993.4% during the third quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 322,936 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $80,553,000 after acquiring an additional 293,400 shares during the period. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in First Solar in the third quarter worth $67,652,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FSLR. Bank of America decreased their target price on First Solar from $321.00 to $269.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down previously from $286.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.04.

First Solar Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $184.27 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.46. First Solar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.88 and a 52-week high of $306.77. The business’s fifty day moving average is $197.18 and its 200 day moving average is $221.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.10 by ($0.19). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The business had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.