First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) CEO Mark R. Widmar Sells 1,272 Shares

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total value of $169,125.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,492,640. The trade was a 1.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

First Solar Trading Down 2.2 %

First Solar stock opened at $136.04 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $164.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.76. The company has a market capitalization of $14.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.96 and a 52 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.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lighthouse Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth about $363,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its holdings in First Solar by 147.9% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 2,749 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,442,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 16,276 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,868,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. Finally, Amiral Gestion purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $529,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FSLR shares. Mizuho upgraded shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $297.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.08.

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.