Mark Widmar Sells 4,815 Shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) CEO Mark Widmar sold 4,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.43, for a total value of $1,191,375.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 89,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,029,435.19. The trade was a 5.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ FSLR traded up $8.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $257.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,456,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,396,192. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.50 and a 12 month high of $285.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $203.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $231.01. The company has a market cap of $27.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.57. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in First Solar in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in First Solar by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 102 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FSLR. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $271.00 to $243.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on First Solar from $258.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on First Solar from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $247.40.

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.