Georges Antoun Sells 229 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $30,628.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 52,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,066,815. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

First Solar Stock Down 4.3 %

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $127.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.63 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.96 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $159.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $189.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $317,399,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in First Solar by 75.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $523,166,000 after purchasing an additional 904,498 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in First Solar by 17,404.5% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $127,379,000 after purchasing an additional 718,631 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC lifted its stake in First Solar by 961.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $113,906,000 after purchasing an additional 585,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in First Solar by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $336,871,000 after purchasing an additional 426,797 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

FSLR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.08.

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.