First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Price Down 2.8% – Time to Sell?

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) shares dropped 2.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $135.21 and last traded at $135.16. Approximately 587,047 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 2,715,328 shares. The stock had previously closed at $139.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSLR has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Seaport Res Ptn raised First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on First Solar in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.08.

First Solar Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $14.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $164.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.76.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its 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). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. On average, analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total transaction of $169,125.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,000 shares in the company, valued at $14,492,640. The trade was a 1.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total value of $1,021,085.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at $484,793.40. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,739 shares of company stock worth $4,289,403 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $317,399,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 75.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $523,166,000 after acquiring an additional 904,498 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 17,404.5% during the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $127,379,000 after acquiring an additional 718,631 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 961.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $113,906,000 after acquiring an additional 585,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $336,871,000 after acquiring an additional 426,797 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

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.