First Solar (FSLR) Sinks on Insider Sales and Concerns Over Potential EU Ban
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First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) stock is down about 6%, or about $15, to $252.23 today. Traders are selling the popular stock today amid a Bloomberg report detailing insider selling and possible concerns in the company's largest market, Europe.
Michael Ahearn, First Solar's CEO and second-largest shareholder, has cut his holdings in half since its IPO at the end of 2006: from about 6.1 million shares to 3.07 million shares as of May 16. The CEO's remaining stake still represents about 3.85% of outstanding shares. Investors view insider trades as a great way to gauge managements conviction in itself; an executive buying usually signals great confidence in his or her company, while a sell can often be viewed as a time to take profits.
Separately, First Solar also announced that its cadmium-telluride solar cells could be banned from usage in the European Union due to concerns that the material could be toxic.
As the Street often considers First Solar the "best of breed" solar play, the majority of the sector is down today. Elsewhere in the sector, Suntech (NYSE: STP) and ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) are both down about 6%, while Solarfun (Nasdaq: SOLF) is down about 3.9% and Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) is down about 4%.
First Solar, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells solar electric power modules using a proprietary thin film semiconductor technology.
Michael Ahearn, First Solar's CEO and second-largest shareholder, has cut his holdings in half since its IPO at the end of 2006: from about 6.1 million shares to 3.07 million shares as of May 16. The CEO's remaining stake still represents about 3.85% of outstanding shares. Investors view insider trades as a great way to gauge managements conviction in itself; an executive buying usually signals great confidence in his or her company, while a sell can often be viewed as a time to take profits.
Separately, First Solar also announced that its cadmium-telluride solar cells could be banned from usage in the European Union due to concerns that the material could be toxic.
As the Street often considers First Solar the "best of breed" solar play, the majority of the sector is down today. Elsewhere in the sector, Suntech (NYSE: STP) and ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) are both down about 6%, while Solarfun (Nasdaq: SOLF) is down about 3.9% and Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) is down about 4%.
First Solar, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells solar electric power modules using a proprietary thin film semiconductor technology.
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