First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Price Down 2.9% – Should You Sell?

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) shares fell 2.9% on Monday . The company traded as low as $120.60 and last traded at $123.63. 1,031,497 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 2,637,038 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $246.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.08.

First Solar Trading Down 0.9 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.51 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. 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 (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued 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). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 599 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 $80,116.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,114,648.75. This represents a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in First Solar by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.