First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Trading Down 1.4% – Time to Sell?

Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) were down 1.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $134.63 and last traded at $137.16. 823,882 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 2,679,635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $139.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FSLR. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target (down previously from $300.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on First Solar in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.08.

First Solar Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $14.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $167.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. Equities research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction of $1,021,085.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $484,793.40. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,821,701 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,259,697,000 after buying an additional 120,289 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in First Solar by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,236,383,000 after acquiring an additional 108,984 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 63,739 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in First Solar by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,359,846 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $415,899,000 after buying an additional 262,482 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 223,933 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.