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

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 103,077 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 113% compared to the typical daily volume of 48,484 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on FSLR. Wall Street Zen lowered First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on First Solar from $191.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho upped their price target on First Solar from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $245.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on First Solar from $223.00 to $217.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,868 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.08, for a total transaction of $278,481.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,998 shares in the company, valued at $894,181.84. This represents a 23.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $466,877.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,798,689.49. This represents a 20.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,376 shares of company stock worth $2,227,172 in the last ninety days. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 396.5% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 11,777 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after buying an additional 9,405 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 48,722 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $6,160,000 after buying an additional 3,226 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in First Solar by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 189,320 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $23,936,000 after purchasing an additional 23,528 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its stake in First Solar by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 9,682 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in First Solar by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 17,807 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,138,000 after purchasing an additional 4,542 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Up 8.7%

FSLR stock opened at $185.43 on Friday. First Solar has a 52-week low of $116.56 and a 52-week high of $262.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a 50-day moving average of $156.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.55). The business had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 29.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.05 EPS for the current 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.