Insider Selling: First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) CEO Sells 1,300 Shares of Stock

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) CEO Mark Widmar sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.02, for a total value of $312,026.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,525,396.96. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

First Solar Trading Up 2.9%

FSLR stock traded up $6.54 on Wednesday, reaching $234.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,628,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,641,506. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.46. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.50 and a 12-month high of $285.99. The firm has a market cap of $25.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.56.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.63 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CI Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the first quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 32,048 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,322,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 26.0% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 337,041 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $66,485,000 after acquiring an additional 69,518 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the first quarter valued at $88,000. Saturna Capital Corp increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 33.0% during the first quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 4,268 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CacheTech Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the first quarter valued at $3,290,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on FSLR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on First Solar from $285.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on First Solar from $303.00 to $256.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays decreased their price objective on First Solar from $228.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.03.

First Solar Company Profile

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.