Redwood Grove Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 85,200 First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Redwood Grove Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 85,200 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $20,104,000. First Solar accounts for approximately 5.1% of Redwood Grove Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Redwood Grove Capital LLC owned approximately 0.08% of First Solar at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the second quarter worth about $3,310,298,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Solar by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,919,991 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $761,396,000 after purchasing an additional 24,206 shares during the period. Hill City Capital LP purchased a new position in First Solar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $620,133,555,000. Viking Global Investors LP raised its position in First Solar by 60.6% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $375,122,000 after purchasing an additional 854,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in First Solar by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,215,461 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $578,791,000 after purchasing an additional 189,626 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key First Solar News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Value appeal: Zacks identifies First Solar as a top-ranked value stock, potentially supporting investor interest given its reported earnings strength and relatively low valuation metrics. First Solar Is a Top-Ranked Value Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data offers no actionable signal: The latest report lists short interest at zero shares and a zero-day days-to-cover ratio, unchanged from the prior period. Because the figures include an apparent calculation error (“NaN” increase), they should not be interpreted as evidence of either short covering or heightened bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal overhang intensifies: Multiple law firms are promoting a securities class action against First Solar and seeking investors to serve as lead plaintiff. The reported claims focus on alleged misrepresentations regarding underutilization of Series 6 module production and the costly challenges of expanding manufacturing operations in South Carolina. The allegations have not been proven, but the repeated announcements may weigh on sentiment by raising potential financial, legal and reputational risks. First Solar Investor Alert Levi and Korsinsky First Solar Lawsuit Alert

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on First Solar from $217.00 to $197.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $245.00 to $272.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $213.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Mizuho set a $324.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $922,706.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 5,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,402,513.12. The trade was a 39.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 829 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.00, for a total value of $205,592.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 6,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,647,216. This represents a 11.10% 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 sold 25,709 shares of company stock valued at $6,386,163. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $206.82 on Wednesday. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $182.99 and a fifty-two week high of $320.95. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.78. The company has a market capitalization of $22.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.75.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $1.02. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 32.47%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.18 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.