Short Interest in Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) Grows By 11.3%

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,730,000 shares, an increase of 11.3% from the December 15th total of 9,640,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days. Currently, 22.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Solar

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. USCF Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Canadian Solar by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Canadian Solar during the second quarter worth $31,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Canadian Solar during the fourth quarter worth $133,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Canadian Solar by 20.3% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 8,900 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Solar in the third quarter valued at about $219,000. 52.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Solar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSIQ traded down $0.07 during trading on Monday, hitting $11.05. 1,467,541 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,511,765. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $11.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.56. Canadian Solar has a 52-week low of $10.60 and a 52-week high of $25.43. The company has a market cap of $731.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -92.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.27.

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The solar energy provider reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Canadian Solar will post -0.23 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on CSIQ. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Canadian Solar in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.15 price objective for the company. Citigroup cut Canadian Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Canadian Solar from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Canadian Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Canadian Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.31.

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.