Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 5,891 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,328 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 5,891 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $11,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in First Solar during the second quarter worth $212,621,000. Viking Global Investors LP raised its position in First Solar by 60.6% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $375,122,000 after acquiring an additional 854,919 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in First Solar by 3.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,721,979 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,026,108,000 after acquiring an additional 464,130 shares during the last quarter. Atreides Management LP bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,134,000. Finally, Clean Energy Transition LLP grew its position in shares of First Solar by 48.2% in the 3rd quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 1,117,228 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $246,382,000 after acquiring an additional 363,274 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $197.56 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.56 and a 52 week high of $285.99. The company has a market capitalization of $21.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.90, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $228.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $235.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.67.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.22 by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 29.28% and a return on equity of 17.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting First Solar

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating on FSLR, signaling confidence in demand and growth even as it trimmed its price target — this preserves analyst support for the growth story. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Sector and media coverage continue to frame First Solar as a structural clean‑energy play (domestic manufacturing, CdTe tech, utility‑scale backlog), which supports longer‑term demand expectations for the stock. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views are mixed: some firms trimmed targets or downgraded while others maintained or raised targets, leaving a consensus “Moderate Buy” but with a wide range of valuations — a source of cross‑currents for traders. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Large institutional ownership (over 90%) and recent small inflows/outflows mean moves can be magnified by concentration of holders; institutional activity is worth watching but not yet decisive. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior executives executed sizable sales on March 9–10 (including CEO Mark Widmar and other C‑suite members). The clustered nature and scale of the sales are being read negatively by the market and can amplify short‑term downside. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP issued an investor alert investigating claims on behalf of First Solar investors — potential litigation/regulatory scrutiny raises uncertainty and typically acts as a near‑term headwind. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Technical and valuation pressure: the shares have pulled back notably over recent weeks and are trading below their 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages, which can trigger technical selling and drag sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarter: revenue beat but EPS missed consensus (reported $4.84 vs. $5.22 est.), a mixed result that leaves room for near‑term analyst caution. Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 7,738 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.93, for a total transaction of $1,516,106.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 91,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,983,826.91. This trade represents a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 3,426 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.93, for a total value of $671,256.18. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,632,880.62. The trade was a 29.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 47,761 shares of company stock valued at $9,276,424 in the last ninety days. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FSLR. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $258.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on First Solar from $285.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Glj Research downgraded First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $314.43 to $207.82 in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. HSBC restated a “hold” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective (down from $280.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on First Solar from $326.00 to $271.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.65.

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.