Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $12.63, but opened at $12.13. Canadian Solar shares last traded at $12.23, with a volume of 909,704 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CSIQ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Canadian Solar from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Citigroup cut shares of Canadian Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Canadian Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Canadian Solar from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Glj Research lifted their target price on shares of Canadian Solar from $9.10 to $12.28 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.03.

Canadian Solar Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $791.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.45.

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The solar energy provider reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.03. Canadian Solar had a net margin of 0.56% and a return on equity of 0.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. Canadian Solar’s revenue for the quarter was down 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Canadian Solar Inc. will post 0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Solar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSIQ. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Solar during the 3rd quarter worth about $219,000. Green Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Canadian Solar by 8.8% in the third quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 40,390 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Canadian Solar by 69.8% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 19,700 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 8,100 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Solar by 109.5% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 68,730 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after acquiring an additional 35,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in Canadian Solar by 41.5% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 108,666 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 31,860 shares during the period. 52.36% of the stock is currently 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.