Insider Selling: First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) CEO Sells 1,272 Shares of Stock

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total transaction of $169,125.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,000 shares in the company, valued at $14,492,640. This represents a 1.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

First Solar Stock Up 4.5 %

FSLR stock opened at $139.10 on Wednesday. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.96 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The company has a market capitalization of $14.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $165.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FSLR shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com raised First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target (down previously from $260.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,821,701 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,259,697,000 after acquiring an additional 120,289 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in First Solar by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,236,383,000 after purchasing an additional 108,984 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in First Solar by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,666,242 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $469,154,000 after purchasing an additional 63,739 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in First Solar by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,359,846 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $415,899,000 after purchasing an additional 262,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in First Solar by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,835,056 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $323,410,000 after buying an additional 223,933 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

About First Solar

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.