First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $181.61 and last traded at $181.2130, with a volume of 895897 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $191.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FSLR. Piper Sandler started coverage on First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $229.00 price target (down from $249.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on First Solar from $217.00 to $197.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $324.00 price objective on First Solar in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.53.

First Solar Trading Down 7.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $19.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $212.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.27.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $1.02. First Solar had a net margin of 32.47% and a return on equity of 18.02%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Michael Koralewski sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.51, for a total transaction of $1,550,570.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,692,779.42. This trade represents a 47.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Jason Dymbort sold 3,700 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $922,706.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 5,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,402,513.12. This trade represents a 39.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,881 shares of company stock worth $3,617,086. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in First Solar by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 292 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 2,026 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 19,131 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $3,774,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 806 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

About First Solar

First Solar, Inc is a renewable energy technology company that designs and manufactures photovoltaic (PV) solar modules. Unlike conventional crystalline-silicon panels, its modules use thin-film semiconductor technology based on cadmium telluride (CdTe). The company also provides supporting services, including project development, engineering, procurement and construction support, operations and maintenance, and module recycling.

First Solar primarily serves utility-scale solar developers, system owners and operators, commercial customers, and government entities.