First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Price Down 0.6% – Here’s What Happened

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) dropped 0.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $131.52 and last traded at $131.98. Approximately 511,967 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 2,689,985 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FSLR has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.08.

First Solar Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $14.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.76.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In related news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total transaction of $169,125.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,492,640. This trade represents a 1.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction of $1,021,085.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $484,793.40. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,739 shares of company stock worth $4,289,403 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in First Solar by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in First Solar by 665.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $7,308,000 after buying an additional 34,074 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in First Solar by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,446 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,350,000 after buying an additional 5,780 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,240,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in First Solar by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $104,910,000 after buying an additional 49,074 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

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.