Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) Trading 8% Higher – Still a Buy?

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ)’s share price was up 8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $12.04 and last traded at $11.96. Approximately 2,495,744 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 59% from the average daily volume of 1,569,738 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CSIQ. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Canadian Solar from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Canadian Solar in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Canadian Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $14.00 to $11.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Canadian Solar in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.15 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Canadian Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.31.

Canadian Solar Trading Up 5.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $773.73 million, a P/E ratio of -97.46, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.06 and a 200 day moving average of $12.56.

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The solar energy provider reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.13. Canadian Solar had a net margin of 0.01% and a return on equity of 0.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Canadian Solar Inc. will post -0.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Solar

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. USCF Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Canadian Solar by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Canadian Solar by 20.3% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 8,900 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in Canadian Solar by 1.4% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 110,188 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Canadian Solar by 184.0% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,166 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 3,347 shares during the period. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. raised its stake in Canadian Solar by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 40,499 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 4,134 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.36% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Solar Company Profile

Canadian Solar Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides solar energy and battery energy storage products and solutions in in Asia, the Americas, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, CSI Solar and Recurrent Energy. The CSI Solar segment designs, develops, and manufactures solar ingots, wafers, cells, modules, and other solar power and battery storage products.