Insider Selling: First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) CTO Sells $160,000.00 in Stock

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 800 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $160,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 5,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,168,400. This trade represents a 12.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Markus Gloeckler also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 4th, Markus Gloeckler sold 829 shares of First Solar stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.00, for a total transaction of $205,592.00.
• On Monday, August 3rd, Markus Gloeckler sold 3,425 shares of First Solar stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.95, for a total transaction of $749,903.75.

First Solar Stock Down 1.4%

FSLR opened at $204.45 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $218.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.64. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $182.99 and a twelve month high of $320.95. The company has a market capitalization of $21.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.74.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm earned $3.18 EPS. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FSLR. Susquehanna lifted their price target on First Solar from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on First Solar from $300.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on First Solar in a report on Thursday, August 27th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $218.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a report on Monday, August 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Solar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 24,534.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 38,336,421 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $9,045,862,000 after acquiring an additional 38,180,800 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the second quarter worth about $3,310,298,000. Hill City Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the second quarter worth about $620,133,555. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $392,040,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the second quarter worth approximately $212,626,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Company Profile

First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin‑film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility‑scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.