Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR)

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 67,156 call options on the company. This is an increase of 128% compared to the average volume of 29,457 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Samantha Sloan sold 127 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,018 shares in the company, valued at $449,913.10. This trade represents a 5.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Jason Dymbort sold 3,700 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $922,706.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 5,624 shares in the company, valued at $1,402,513.12. The trade was a 39.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,427 shares of company stock valued at $1,250,221. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in First Solar in the second quarter valued at about $3,310,298,000. Hill City Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 2nd quarter worth about $620,133,555. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,535,836 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $362,396,000 after purchasing an additional 100,694 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,305,471 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $257,441,000 after buying an additional 56,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,254,076 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $219,666,000 after buying an additional 110,031 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on First Solar from $259.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $313.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $197.00 to $169.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $260.00 to $251.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.38.

First Solar Trading Up 9.3%

Shares of FSLR traded up $17.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $203.14. The company had a trading volume of 4,751,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,371,699. First Solar has a 12-month low of $165.86 and a 12-month high of $320.95. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.65. The company has a market capitalization of $21.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.73.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $5.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 37.12% and a return on equity of 18.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Solar Company Profile

First Solar, Inc is a vertically integrated solar technology and manufacturing company that designs, manufactures and sells photovoltaic (PV) solar modules. Its modules use advanced thin-film semiconductor technology based on cadmium telluride (CdTe), rather than the crystalline-silicon technology used by most solar manufacturers. The company serves utility-scale solar developers, commercial and industrial customers, and other large-scale energy users.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, First Solar operates research and development, manufacturing and recycling facilities in the United States and internationally.