California State Teachers Retirement System Increases Stock Position in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 24,534.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,336,421 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,180,800 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.36% of First Solar worth $9,045,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 29.3% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,138,473 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $224,540,000 after purchasing an additional 258,204 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in First Solar in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,019,000. Atlatl Advisers LLC purchased a new position in First Solar during the 4th quarter worth $1,697,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in First Solar by 1,054.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 52,219 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $13,641,000 after buying an additional 47,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Genus Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter worth $4,525,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Up 4.3%

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $213.25 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.91 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.74. First Solar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $182.99 and a 52-week high of $320.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.29.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.92 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 firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $217.00 to $197.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $229.00 price objective (down from $249.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, July 31st. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on First Solar in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets downgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on First Solar from $213.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $160,000.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 5,842 shares in the company, valued at $1,168,400. This represents a 12.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Samantha Sloan sold 127 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.95, for a total transaction of $28,314.65. Following 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 15,881 shares of company stock worth $3,617,086 over the last ninety days. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.