Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $13.00 to $10.00. The stock had previously closed at $13.29, but opened at $12.77. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Canadian Solar shares last traded at $12.93, with a volume of 194,956 shares changing hands.

Several other analysts have also commented on CSIQ. StockNews.com raised shares of Canadian Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Canadian Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup cut Canadian Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $19.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Canadian Solar in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.15 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Canadian Solar in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.31.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Solar

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CSIQ. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Solar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Solar during the third quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Solar by 43.1% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 15,733 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 4,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Solar by 8.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,716 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.36% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Solar Trading Down 2.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $853.45 million, a PE ratio of -107.50, a P/E/G ratio of 8.89 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $12.33 and its 200 day moving average is $13.74.

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The solar energy provider reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. Canadian Solar’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Canadian Solar Inc. will post 0.06 EPS for the current year.

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.