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

Key Points

• First Solar CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 800 shares for $160,000 at an average price of $200 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, reducing his holdings by 12.04% to 5,842 shares.
• FSLR shares traded down 0.2% to $199.34, near the lower end of their 52-week range. The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with $3.92 in EPS, though revenue declined 3.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $266.27 price target; institutional investors own 92.08% of the stock.

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $160,000.00. Following 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $205,592.00.
• On Monday, August 3rd, Markus Gloeckler sold 3,425 shares of First Solar stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.95, for a total value of $749,903.75.

First Solar Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ FSLR traded down $0.31 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $199.34. 786,930 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,368,268. The company has a market cap of $21.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.74. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $182.99 and a fifty-two week high of $320.95. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $221.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.02.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 32.47%.The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.18 EPS. First Solar's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of First Solar by 24,534.5% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 38,180,800 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the second quarter worth $3,310,298,000. Hill City Capital LP bought a new position in First Solar in the 2nd quarter worth about $620,133,555. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at about $392,040,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in First Solar in the second quarter valued at approximately $212,626,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on FSLR shares. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $213.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. HC Wainwright started coverage on First Solar in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of First Solar in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $266.27.

About First Solar

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.

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