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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FSLR. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $217.00 to $197.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of First Solar in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Argus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.53.

First Solar Price Performance

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

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $1.02. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 32.47%.First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.18 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, EVP Samantha L. Sloan sold 127 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.95, for a total transaction of $28,314.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $449,913.10. This trade represents a 5.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $160,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 5,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,168,400. This trade represents a 12.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders sold 15,881 shares of company stock valued at $3,617,086 in the last ninety days. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in First Solar by 5.7% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,017 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,892,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden grew its stake in First Solar by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 97,856 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $23,090,000 after acquiring an additional 19,607 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in First Solar by 100.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 61,768 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $14,575,000 after acquiring an additional 30,967 shares during the last quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in First Solar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $232,000. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in First Solar by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 254,763 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $60,114,000 after acquiring an additional 19,358 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.