Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Canadian Solar in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.15 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup lowered shares of Canadian Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Canadian Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on Canadian Solar in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.31.

Canadian Solar Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CSIQ traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.05. 1,467,541 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,633,622. The stock has a market cap of $731.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -92.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Canadian Solar has a fifty-two week low of $10.60 and a fifty-two week high of $25.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $11.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.60.

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The solar energy provider reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.13. Canadian Solar had a net margin of 0.01% and a return on equity of 0.02%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. Canadian Solar’s quarterly revenue was down 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Canadian Solar will post -0.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Canadian Solar by 25.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 5,115,665 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $75,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,800 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Canadian Solar by 131.5% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 428,733 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $7,186,000 after purchasing an additional 243,542 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Canadian Solar by 494.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 115,328 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $1,932,000 after buying an additional 95,924 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,109,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Canadian Solar by 101.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 113,461 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after purchasing an additional 57,246 shares in the last quarter. 52.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Canadian Solar

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.