First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Insider Sells $36,144.00 in Stock

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) insider Patrick James Buehler sold 180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.80, for a total value of $36,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,088 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,270.40. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Patrick James Buehler also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 9th, Patrick James Buehler sold 697 shares of First Solar stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.36, for a total value of $132,680.92.
• On Tuesday, March 3rd, Patrick James Buehler sold 1,361 shares of First Solar stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.93, for a total value of $266,660.73.

First Solar Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of FSLR stock traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $200.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,358,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,623,352. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $116.56 and a one year high of $285.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.65. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.51.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.22 by ($0.38). First Solar had a net margin of 29.28% and a return on equity of 17.32%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. First Solar’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Solar by 3.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,721,979 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $3,026,108,000 after acquiring an additional 464,130 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,326,082 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $881,680,000 after purchasing an additional 111,927 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,919,991 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $761,396,000 after purchasing an additional 24,206 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 60.6% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $375,122,000 after buying an additional 854,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,215,461 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $578,791,000 after buying an additional 189,626 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Solar News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim kept a Buy rating while lowering its price target to $269 from $312, implying ~34% upside from the current price — a continued institutional vote of confidence despite the cut. Guggenheim price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/media coverage lists First Solar among undervalued renewable-energy stocks, reinforcing a value/mean?reversion investment narrative (forward P/E cited as attractive). InsiderMonkey undervalued stocks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several small insider sales were reported (e.g., Georges Antoun sold 245 shares at ~$200.80). These single, modest dispositions are routine for insiders and may not by themselves signal a change in company outlook. Antoun Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Concentrated executive selling: the CFO sold 14,106 shares (~$2.82M; ~31.98% reduction), the General Counsel sold 9,022 shares (~$1.8M; ~48% reduction), and the CEO sold 1,937 shares (~$389k). Large, clustered sales by senior management can weigh on sentiment because they reduce insider ownership and may prompt questions about timing or outlook. Representative SEC filing: CFO sale. CFO Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP issued an investor alert announcing an investigation into First Solar, which introduces legal/financial risk and can increase headline volatility and potential liability concerns. Pomerantz investor alert

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of First Solar from $286.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $279.00 to $228.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of First Solar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on 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, UBS Group reduced their target price on First Solar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.17.

About First Solar

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.