First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Director R Craig Kennedy Sells 2,000 Shares

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Director R Craig Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total transaction of $393,460.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,736,120.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

R Craig Kennedy also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, March 1st, R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of First Solar stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total transaction of $236,640.00.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of FSLR opened at $194.67 on Wednesday. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $232.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.92. The company has a market capitalization of $20.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.41.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $794.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.19 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 28.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in First Solar by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 548,058 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $94,419,000 after purchasing an additional 20,946 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 504.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 399,650 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $68,852,000 after buying an additional 333,496 shares during the period. Sora Investors LLC boosted its holdings in First Solar by 63.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sora Investors LLC now owns 90,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $14,543,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in First Solar by 2.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,040,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,945,549,000 after acquiring an additional 279,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 304,592.2% during the fourth quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $26,771,000 after purchasing an additional 155,342 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on First Solar from $224.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $236.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $359.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.16.

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.