Insider Selling: First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) CFO Sells 599 Shares of Stock

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 599 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $80,116.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,717 shares in the company, valued at $6,114,648.75. This represents a 1.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $129.34 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.31. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.96 and a 1 year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. As a group, research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in First Solar by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,821,701 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,259,697,000 after buying an additional 120,289 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in First Solar by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,236,383,000 after buying an additional 108,984 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in First Solar by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,666,242 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $469,154,000 after buying an additional 63,739 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in First Solar by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,359,846 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $415,899,000 after buying an additional 262,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in First Solar by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,835,056 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $323,410,000 after buying an additional 223,933 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $246.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.08.

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.