Mark R. Widmar Sells 26,553 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Rating) CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 26,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $5,488,505.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 108,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,408,967.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

First Solar Trading Up 1.0 %

FSLR opened at $212.30 on Tuesday. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.60 and a 52 week high of $216.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.40. The firm has a market cap of $22.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -505.48 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 3.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 28th. The solar cell manufacturer reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. First Solar had a negative return on equity of 0.75% and a negative net margin of 1.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the third quarter worth about $25,000. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 370.7% during the third quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Lakewood Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Romano Brothers AND Company purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSLR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on First Solar from $188.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Evercore ISI cut First Solar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on First Solar from $180.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, Argus increased their target price on First Solar from $123.00 to $176.00 in a report on Thursday, November 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.35.

First Solar Company Profile

(Get Rating)

First Solar, Inc engages in designing, manufacturing, marketing, and the distribution of photovoltaic solar power systems and solar modules. It operates through the Modules and Systems segments. The Modules segment involves the design, manufacture, and sale of cadmium telluride solar modules, which convert sunlight into electricity.