First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $251.75, but opened at $245.00. First Solar shares last traded at $240.92, with a volume of 1,380,422 shares.

Specifically, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 12,406 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $2,543,230.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,515,125. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total transaction of $2,592,551.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,539,477.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 12,406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $2,543,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,515,125. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,191 shares of company stock valued at $7,809,099 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on FSLR. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of First Solar from $209.50 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of First Solar from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $258.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of First Solar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $227.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Solar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.16.

First Solar Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The firm has a market cap of $26.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $177.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.86.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $794.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $718.19 million. First Solar had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The business’s revenue was up 44.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the first quarter valued at about $21,815,000. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 16.1% during the first quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 2,103 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 175.6% during the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,685 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $960,000 after buying an additional 3,622 shares during the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp raised its position in shares of First Solar by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 4,740 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of First Solar by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 167,897 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $28,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,842 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.