Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Position in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 20.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 130,312 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 33,025 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $25,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $392,040,000. Viking Global Investors LP increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 854,919 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new position in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at $200,109,000. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2,663.8% during the fourth quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 666,307 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $174,059,000 after buying an additional 642,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of First Solar by 38.6% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,025,835 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $459,917,000 after buying an additional 564,032 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $252.00 to $237.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on First Solar from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised First Solar from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on First Solar from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on First Solar from $213.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.41.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $145,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,967 shares in the company, valued at $1,241,750. This represents a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total transaction of $90,564.60. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 10,896 shares in the company, valued at $2,349,504.48. This represents a 3.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,893 shares of company stock worth $7,893,775. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Solar Stock Down 3.2%

First Solar stock opened at $205.31 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.56. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $171.99 and a fifty-two week high of $320.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $250.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.33.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.54 earnings per share for the current year.

More First Solar News

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

• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms, including Rosen, Faruqi & Faruqi, Glancy Prongay Wolke & Rotter, Kaplan Fox, and Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, issued reminders about the Aug. 24, 2026 lead-plaintiff deadline in a filed class action against First Solar, which keeps legal overhang front and center for shareholders.
• Negative Sentiment: Levi & Korsinsky said the case focuses on alleged misrepresentations about Series 6 module production underutilization and the challenges of onshoring operations to South Carolina, adding to concerns about operational execution and disclosure risk.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market-related articles also highlighted First Solar as a notable solar/green-energy name, but these pieces were broad industry commentary rather than company-specific catalysts.
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO Capital reportedly kept a Hold rating on First Solar, suggesting analysts remain cautious but not outright bearish on the stock.

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.