Key Points
- First Solar CEO Mark Widmar sold 9,926 shares on May 11 at an average price of $233.21, totaling about $2.31 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
- After the transaction, Widmar held 95,148 shares valued at roughly $22.19 million, reflecting a 9.45% decrease in his ownership stake.
- First Solar recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.22 EPS versus $2.87 expected, while analysts remain moderately bullish with an average price target of $247.03.
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) CEO Mark Widmar sold 1,300 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.02, for a total value of $312,026.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,525,396.96. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
First Solar Stock Performance
Shares of FSLR stock opened at $234.60 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.50 and a fifty-two week high of $285.99. The stock's 50-day moving average is $199.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.46. The firm has a market cap of $25.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.57.
First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The firm's revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.95 EPS. Analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in First Solar during the 4th quarter worth $392,040,000. Viking Global Investors LP grew its position in shares of First Solar by 60.6% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $375,122,000 after purchasing an additional 854,919 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at about $200,109,000. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 2,663.8% in the fourth quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 666,307 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $174,059,000 after purchasing an additional 642,199 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 38.6% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,025,835 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $459,917,000 after purchasing an additional 564,032 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
More First Solar News
Here are the key news stories impacting First Solar this week:
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages have recently commented on FSLR. HSBC increased their price target on shares of First Solar from $211.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Solar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $303.00 to $256.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wolfe Research lowered First Solar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on First Solar from $320.00 to $253.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $247.03.
Read Our Latest Analysis on FSLR
About First Solar
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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