Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $10.10, but opened at $11.01. Canadian Solar shares last traded at $11.3550, with a volume of 1,806,432 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CSIQ shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Canadian Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Canadian Solar from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Roth Capital set a $15.00 price target on shares of Canadian Solar in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Canadian Solar from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Canadian Solar from $25.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Canadian Solar has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $15.84.

Canadian Solar Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.32. The company has a market cap of $753.28 million, a PE ratio of -2.89 and a beta of 1.50.

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 27th. The solar energy provider reported ($1.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($1.22). The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Canadian Solar had a negative net margin of 3.73% and a negative return on equity of 5.57%. Canadian Solar’s revenue was down 28.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.53) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Canadian Solar Inc. will post -2.93 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in Canadian Solar in the second quarter valued at $2,262,141,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Solar during the second quarter worth about $1,018,259,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Solar during the second quarter worth about $722,850,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Solar during the second quarter worth about $676,361,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Solar during the second quarter worth about $85,219,000. 52.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Canadian Solar

Canadian Solar Inc is a global solar energy company that designs, manufactures and delivers renewable energy products and solutions. Founded in 2001 by Dr. Shawn Qu, the company is headquartered in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, and serves customers in markets across North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and Asia.

Through its CSI Solar business, Canadian Solar provides photovoltaic solar modules, inverters, battery energy storage systems and other components used in residential, commercial, industrial and utility-scale projects.