Insider Selling: First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Insider Sells $198,164.76 in Stock

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) insider Caroline Stockdale sold 1,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.36, for a total transaction of $198,164.76. Following the transaction, the insider owned 33,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,395,144.20. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Caroline Stockdale also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, March 3rd, Caroline Stockdale sold 1,650 shares of First Solar stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.93, for a total transaction of $323,284.50.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $197.56 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.56 and a 52 week high of $285.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $228.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.89. The company has a market cap of $21.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.22 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 29.28%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. Research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting First Solar

Here are the key news stories impacting First Solar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating on FSLR, signaling confidence in demand and growth even as it trimmed its price target — this preserves analyst support for the growth story. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Sector and media coverage continue to frame First Solar as a structural clean?energy play (domestic manufacturing, CdTe tech, utility?scale backlog), which supports longer?term demand expectations for the stock. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views are mixed: some firms trimmed targets or downgraded while others maintained or raised targets, leaving a consensus “Moderate Buy” but with a wide range of valuations — a source of cross?currents for traders. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Large institutional ownership (over 90%) and recent small inflows/outflows mean moves can be magnified by concentration of holders; institutional activity is worth watching but not yet decisive. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior executives executed sizable sales on March 9–10 (including CEO Mark Widmar and other C?suite members). The clustered nature and scale of the sales are being read negatively by the market and can amplify short?term downside. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP issued an investor alert investigating claims on behalf of First Solar investors — potential litigation/regulatory scrutiny raises uncertainty and typically acts as a near?term headwind. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Technical and valuation pressure: the shares have pulled back notably over recent weeks and are trading below their 50? and 200?day moving averages, which can trigger technical selling and drag sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarter: revenue beat but EPS missed consensus (reported $4.84 vs. $5.22 est.), a mixed result that leaves room for near?term analyst caution. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on First Solar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $292.00 to $280.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $258.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $303.00 to $256.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.65.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $392,040,000. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its position in First Solar by 60.6% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $375,122,000 after acquiring an additional 854,919 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $200,109,000. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. grew its stake in First Solar by 2,663.8% in the 4th quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 666,307 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $174,059,000 after acquiring an additional 642,199 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in First Solar by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,025,835 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $459,917,000 after acquiring an additional 564,032 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.