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

Shares of Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading 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.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CSIQ. Citigroup cut Canadian Solar from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Canadian Solar in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $14.15 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Canadian Solar from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Canadian Solar in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Canadian Solar from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $11.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.31.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSIQ. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Solar during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Solar during the 3rd quarter worth $219,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Canadian Solar by 43.1% during the 2nd 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 period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Solar by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,716 shares of the solar energy provider's stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. 52.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian Solar Price Performance

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 company's 50 day moving average is $12.33 and its 200 day moving average is $13.74. The stock has a market cap of $842.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -106.17, a PEG ratio of 8.89 and a beta of 1.27.

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Canadian Solar Inc. will post 0.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.