First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 31,358 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 21% compared to the average volume of 25,870 put options.
Insider Activity
In other First Solar news, insider Michael Koralewski sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.51, for a total transaction of $1,550,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,692,779.42. This trade represents a 47.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Samantha Sloan sold 127 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.95, for a total value of $28,314.65. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,881 shares of company stock worth $3,617,086. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar
Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new stake in First Solar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in First Solar during the second quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.
First Solar News Roundup
- Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler maintained an “overweight” rating and lowered its price target modestly to $251 from $260, still implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. Piper Sandler price-target report
- Positive Sentiment: First Solar has a strong earnings-surprise record, and Zacks says the company currently has favorable conditions for potentially exceeding estimates in its next quarterly report. Its most recent reported quarter also exceeded EPS expectations. Zacks earnings preview
- Neutral Sentiment: Sell-side analysts now give FSLR an overall “moderate buy” rating, suggesting constructive longer-term sentiment despite recent estimate reductions. Analyst consensus report
- Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention and online searches for First Solar have increased, which may support trading activity but does not by itself indicate a change in fundamentals. Investor search-interest report
- Negative Sentiment: Put-option activity was unusually high, with traders buying 31,358 puts—about 21% above average—signaling increased demand for downside protection or bearish speculation.
- Negative Sentiment: KeyCorp reduced its EPS forecasts across 2026–2029, including cuts to 2026 EPS from $17.66 to $16.85 and third-quarter EPS from $4.99 to $4.59. These revisions put pressure on expectations and likely contribute to the stock’s weakness. First Solar analyst estimates
- Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage has linked the solar-sector decline to higher bond yields, which can raise financing costs and reduce the appeal of growth-oriented renewable-energy stocks. Solar-sector yield report
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on First Solar from $318.00 to $290.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of First Solar in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, July 31st. HSBC upgraded shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $300.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.23.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on FSLR
First Solar Trading Down 1.7%
Shares of FSLR traded down $3.05 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $172.11. The stock had a trading volume of 2,541,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,384,671. First Solar has a 12 month low of $168.60 and a 12 month high of $320.95. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.53. The company has a market capitalization of $18.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.74.
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 net margin of 32.47% and a return on equity of 18.02%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.18 EPS. First Solar’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Solar will post 17.7 EPS for the current year.
About First Solar
First Solar, Inc is a solar technology and manufacturing company that designs and produces photovoltaic (PV) solar modules for utility-scale power projects. Unlike conventional crystalline-silicon panels, its modules use thin-film semiconductor technology based on cadmium telluride (CdTe), which the company says can provide advantages in energy yield, temperature performance and lifecycle sustainability.
The company’s product portfolio includes its Series 6 and Series 7 thin-film solar modules, along with related services such as technical support, module recycling and end-of-life collection.
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