Alexander R. Bradley Sells 599 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 599 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $80,116.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,114,648.75. The trade was a 1.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR traded down $5.69 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $127.34. 3,015,970 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,556,447. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.96 and a 52 week high of $306.77. The stock has a market cap of $13.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $159.91 and a 200 day moving average of $189.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($1.16). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FSLR has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on First Solar from $297.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,821,701 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,259,697,000 after purchasing an additional 120,289 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,236,383,000 after buying an additional 108,984 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,666,242 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $469,154,000 after buying an additional 63,739 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,359,846 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $415,899,000 after buying an additional 262,482 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,835,056 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $323,410,000 after buying an additional 223,933 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

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.