First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Down 3.7% – What’s Next?

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)’s stock price traded down 3.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $126.51 and last traded at $126.57. 1,069,351 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 2,580,322 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America cut their price target on First Solar from $246.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Mizuho raised shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group cut their price objective on First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target (down from $300.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.08.

First Solar Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.83, 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 quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $154.08 and a 200-day moving average of $186.71.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. Research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $262,952.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,965,287.50. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total value of $1,021,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $484,793.40. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in First Solar by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $856,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 665.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $7,308,000 after buying an additional 34,074 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in First Solar by 36.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,446 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $5,350,000 after acquiring an additional 5,780 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at $1,240,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $104,910,000 after purchasing an additional 49,074 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Company Profile

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.