First Solar Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:FSLR)

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 37,161 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 22% compared to the average volume of 30,533 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $769,896. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other First Solar news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total transaction of $1,913,418.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $769,896. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 1,766 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $382,339.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,885 shares of company stock valued at $2,405,757 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Financial Corp CA purchased a new stake in First Solar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,209,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in First Solar by 6.3% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 259,177 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $43,749,000 after buying an additional 15,430 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in First Solar by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 121,055 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $20,434,000 after buying an additional 20,465 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar by 224.0% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,217 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,301,000 after acquiring an additional 3,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in First Solar during the first quarter valued at $759,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FSLR shares. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on First Solar from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on First Solar from $344.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $271.00 to $266.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $343.00 to $321.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.46.

First Solar Trading Up 3.1 %

FSLR stock traded up $6.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $202.36. 2,089,210 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,376,385. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.65. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $226.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $223.39. The company has a market capitalization of $21.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $939.71 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company’s revenue was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that First Solar will post 13.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.