Short Interest in Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) Expands By 6.4%

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,830,000 shares, an increase of 6.4% from the August 15th total of 7,360,000 shares. Currently, 16.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,540,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days.

Canadian Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSIQ traded up $0.40 on Tuesday, reaching $14.06. 826,392 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,560,299. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Canadian Solar has a 1-year low of $11.41 and a 1-year high of $27.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $14.49 and a 200-day moving average of $16.39. The firm has a market cap of $930.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.29.

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The solar energy provider reported $0.02 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Canadian Solar will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Solar

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Canadian Solar during the first quarter worth about $989,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Canadian Solar by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,575,683 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $41,330,000 after purchasing an additional 213,959 shares during the last quarter. D. Scott Neal Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Solar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,898,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Canadian Solar by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 198,646 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $3,925,000 after buying an additional 46,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian Solar during the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. 52.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CSIQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Canadian Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Glj Research boosted their price objective on shares of Canadian Solar from $9.10 to $12.28 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Canadian Solar from $43.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Canadian Solar from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian Solar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.33.

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.