Mezzasalma Advisors LLC Sells 2,180 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Mezzasalma Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 40.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,190 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 2,180 shares during the quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at about $298,123,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in First Solar by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $422,861,000 after acquiring an additional 351,540 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in First Solar by 504.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 399,650 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $68,852,000 after acquiring an additional 333,496 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Solar by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,040,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,945,549,000 after purchasing an additional 279,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,283,705 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $369,024,000 after purchasing an additional 211,755 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on First Solar from $268.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of First Solar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $187.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $195.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on First Solar from $227.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.12.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total value of $4,409,049.19. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 30,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,419,797.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other First Solar news, Director Richard D. Chapman sold 3,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.48, for a total transaction of $602,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,045 shares in the company, valued at $199,051.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total transaction of $4,409,049.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,419,797.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,153 shares of company stock valued at $12,540,428. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of First Solar stock traded up $14.38 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $231.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,989,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,054,226. The company has a market cap of $24.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $236.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.91. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $306.77.

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