Canadian Solar Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:CSIQ)

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 6,034 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 42% compared to the average volume of 4,253 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Canadian Solar from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Canadian Solar from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered Canadian Solar from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings cut Canadian Solar from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Glj Research reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $5.58 price target on shares of Canadian Solar in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.52.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Solar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Solar in the 2nd quarter worth $631,683,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Solar during the second quarter valued at $722,850,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Solar in the second quarter valued at about $151,417,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Solar by 170.5% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 325,847 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $5,220,000 after acquiring an additional 205,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Canadian Solar in the second quarter worth about $59,238,000. 52.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Solar Trading Down 2.0%

CSIQ stock traded down $0.23 during trading on Monday, hitting $11.15. The company had a trading volume of 479,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,597,797. Canadian Solar has a 52-week low of $10.34 and a 52-week high of $34.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $757.05 million, a P/E ratio of -2.90 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The solar energy provider reported ($1.40) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($1.22). Canadian Solar had a negative return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.73%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.53) earnings per share. Canadian Solar’s revenue was down 28.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Canadian Solar will post -2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Solar Company Profile

Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is a global renewable-energy company that designs, manufactures and sells solar photovoltaic modules and system solutions. Its product portfolio includes solar modules, inverters, battery-storage systems and other equipment used in residential, commercial, industrial and utility-scale renewable-energy installations.

The company also develops, builds and operates solar-power and energy-storage projects through its Recurrent Energy business. These activities include project development, engineering, procurement and construction, as well as the ownership and sale of electricity-generating assets.