Traders Buy Large Volume of Canadian Solar Call Options (NASDAQ:CSIQ)

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors acquired 8,278 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 139% compared to the average daily volume of 3,464 call options.

Canadian Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSIQ traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $9.32. The company had a trading volume of 1,029,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,932,960. Canadian Solar has a fifty-two week low of $6.57 and a fifty-two week high of $21.05. The firm has a market cap of $616.60 million, a P/E ratio of -77.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.33. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.93.

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The solar energy provider reported ($1.47) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($1.26). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Canadian Solar had a net margin of 0.01% and a return on equity of 0.02%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.02) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Canadian Solar will post -0.23 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Canadian Solar from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised Canadian Solar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $8.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Roth Capital cut shares of Canadian Solar from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $9.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Canadian Solar from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Canadian Solar from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Four equities research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.77.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Solar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CSIQ. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Canadian Solar by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 180,792 shares of the solar energy provider's stock worth $2,010,000 after buying an additional 67,331 shares in the last quarter. Shah Capital Management increased its position in shares of Canadian Solar by 825.6% during the 4th quarter. Shah Capital Management now owns 1,745,546 shares of the solar energy provider's stock valued at $19,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556,964 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in Canadian Solar by 494.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 115,328 shares of the solar energy provider's stock worth $1,932,000 after acquiring an additional 95,924 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in Canadian Solar by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 185,175 shares of the solar energy provider's stock valued at $2,059,000 after acquiring an additional 26,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenwoods Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Solar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,738,000. 52.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.