Canadian Solar (CSIQ) Competitors

MaxLinear (NYSE:MXL) and Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, earnings, media sentiment, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and community ranking.

Is MXL or CSIQ more profitable?

Canadian Solar has a net margin of 0.56% compared to MaxLinear's net margin of -42.38%. Canadian Solar's return on equity of 0.99% beat MaxLinear's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MaxLinear	-42.38%	-12.39%	-7.82%
Canadian Solar	0.56%	0.99%	0.31%

Does the MarketBeat Community favor MXL or CSIQ?

MaxLinear received 59 more outperform votes than Canadian Solar when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 72.74% of users gave MaxLinear an outperform vote while only 59.03% of users gave Canadian Solar an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
MaxLinear	Outperform Votes 595 72.74%	Underperform Votes 223 27.26%
Canadian Solar	Outperform Votes 536 59.03%	Underperform Votes 372 40.97%

Does the media refer more to MXL or CSIQ?

In the previous week, MaxLinear had 6 more articles in the media than Canadian Solar. MarketBeat recorded 17 mentions for MaxLinear and 11 mentions for Canadian Solar. Canadian Solar's average media sentiment score of 0.33 beat MaxLinear's score of 0.19 indicating that Canadian Solar is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
MaxLinear	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Canadian Solar	3 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts rate MXL or CSIQ?

MaxLinear presently has a consensus target price of $23.44, indicating a potential upside of 74.70%. Canadian Solar has a consensus target price of $23.33, indicating a potential upside of 47.27%. Given MaxLinear's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe MaxLinear is more favorable than Canadian Solar.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MaxLinear	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.30
Canadian Solar	2 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20

Which has higher earnings & valuation, MXL or CSIQ?

Canadian Solar has higher revenue and earnings than MaxLinear. MaxLinear is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Canadian 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
MaxLinear	$448.14M	2.49	-$73.15M	-$1.89	-7.10
Canadian Solar	$6.51B	0.16	$274.19M	$2.88	5.50

Which has more risk & volatility, MXL or CSIQ?

MaxLinear has a beta of 1.84, meaning that its stock price is 84% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Canadian Solar has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in MXL or CSIQ?

90.8% of MaxLinear shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.4% of Canadian Solar shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.6% of MaxLinear shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 21.5% of Canadian Solar shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Canadian Solar beats MaxLinear on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.