Patton Fund Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Patton Fund Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 93.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,764 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 27,120 shares during the quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlatl Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,697,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 1,054.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 52,219 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $13,641,000 after purchasing an additional 47,695 shares in the last quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,304,000. Clean Energy Transition LLP increased its stake in First Solar by 48.2% in the third quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 1,117,228 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $246,382,000 after purchasing an additional 363,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Genus Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,525,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $300.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of First Solar from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $212.00 to $219.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.78.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $239.07 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $243.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.95. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.54 and a 12 month high of $320.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.15.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.95 EPS. First Solar’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting First Solar

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

• Negative Sentiment: Several firms, including Howard G. Smith, Bronstein Gewirtz & Grossman, Rosen Law, Pomerantz, Portnoy, and the Schall Law Firm, announced or promoted class-action cases tied to First Solar, increasing legal overhang and headline risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities-fraud investigations were also launched or reiterated by plaintiff firms, suggesting investors are actively probing whether earlier company disclosures may have been misleading. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: One Zacks item called First Solar a strong growth stock, which is supportive on fundamentals, but it appears to be a generic rating piece rather than a new company-specific catalyst. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In related news, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total value of $88,192.67. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 10,409 shares in the company, valued at $2,244,492.67. The trade was a 3.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 10,628 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.60, for a total value of $2,929,076.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 23,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,557,075.20. This represents a 30.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,466 shares of company stock valued at $8,014,105. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.