First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) CEO Mark R. Widmar Sells 1,272 Shares

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total value of $169,125.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,000 shares in the company, valued at $14,492,640. The trade was a 1.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

First Solar Stock Down 4.3 %

Shares of FSLR traded down $6.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $133.11. 3,446,450 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,741,593. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.96 and a 52 week high of $306.77. The company has a market cap of $14.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.80.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FSLR has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup cut their price target on First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $297.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,821,701 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,259,697,000 after buying an additional 120,289 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in First Solar by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,236,383,000 after acquiring an additional 108,984 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar by 2.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 63,739 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $415,899,000 after purchasing an additional 262,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,835,056 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $323,410,000 after purchasing an additional 223,933 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.