First Solar (FSLR) Competitors

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) and First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Does the media prefer CSIQ or FSLR?

In the previous week, First Solar had 26 more articles in the media than Canadian Solar. MarketBeat recorded 32 mentions for First Solar and 6 mentions for Canadian Solar. First Solar's average media sentiment score of 1.55 beat Canadian Solar's score of 0.72 indicating that First Solar is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Canadian Solar	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Solar	25 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Do analysts prefer CSIQ or FSLR?

Canadian Solar presently has a consensus target price of $11.69, indicating a potential upside of 7.36%. First Solar has a consensus target price of $225.84, indicating a potential upside of 11.97%. Given First Solar's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Solar is more favorable than Canadian Solar.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Canadian Solar	2 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
First Solar	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	22 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.89

Which has better earnings & valuation, CSIQ or FSLR?

First Solar has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Canadian Solar. Canadian Solar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Solar, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Canadian Solar	$5.92B	0.12	$36.05M	-$0.60	-18.15
First Solar	$4.21B	5.14	$1.29B	$11.69	17.25

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of CSIQ or FSLR?

52.4% of Canadian Solar shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.1% of First Solar shares are held by institutional investors. 21.5% of Canadian Solar shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of First Solar shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is CSIQ or FSLR more profitable?

First Solar has a net margin of 28.95% compared to Canadian Solar's net margin of -0.12%. First Solar's return on equity of 15.57% beat Canadian Solar's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Canadian Solar	-0.12%	-4.97%	-1.40%
First Solar	28.95%	15.57%	10.36%

Which has more risk & volatility, CSIQ or FSLR?

Canadian Solar has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Solar has a beta of 1.41, indicating that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Solar beats Canadian Solar on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.