Insider Selling: First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) CTO Sells 380 Shares of Stock

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $50,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 17,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,353,197.50. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

First Solar Trading Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ FSLR traded up $2.86 during trading on Friday, reaching $131.32. 4,507,994 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,566,034. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.96 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $14.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $157.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.89.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. Analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FSLR shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on First Solar from $246.00 to $236.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $285.00 price objective (down from $300.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Solar from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $262.08.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in First Solar by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,476 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 239.8% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,153 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $786,000 after acquiring an additional 2,225 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 95.2% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 443 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 8.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,786 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $3,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in First Solar by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.