First Solar (FSLR) Competitors

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) and Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, media sentiment, analyst recommendations and risk.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in FSLR or CSIQ?

92.1% of First Solar shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.4% of Canadian Solar shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of First Solar shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 21.5% of Canadian Solar shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts prefer FSLR or CSIQ?

First Solar presently has a consensus price target of $225.84, indicating a potential upside of 11.88%. Canadian Solar has a consensus price target of $11.69, indicating a potential upside of 20.41%. Given Canadian Solar's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Canadian Solar is more favorable than First Solar.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Solar	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	22 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.89
Canadian Solar	2 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Does the media refer more to FSLR or CSIQ?

In the previous week, First Solar had 9 more articles in the media than Canadian Solar. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for First Solar and 6 mentions for Canadian Solar. First Solar's average media sentiment score of 1.24 beat Canadian Solar's score of 0.14 indicating that First Solar is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Solar	10 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Canadian Solar	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has more volatility & risk, FSLR or CSIQ?

First Solar has a beta of 1.41, meaning that its share price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Canadian Solar has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, FSLR or CSIQ?

First Solar has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Canadian Solar. Canadian Solar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First 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
First Solar	$4.21B	5.15	$1.29B	$11.69	17.27
Canadian Solar	$5.99B	0.11	$36.05M	-$0.60	-16.18

Is FSLR or CSIQ more profitable?

First Solar has a net margin of 28.95% compared to Canadian Solar's net margin of -0.12%. First Solar's return on equity of 15.57% beat Canadian Solar's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Solar	28.95%	15.57%	10.36%
Canadian Solar	-0.12%	-4.97%	-1.40%

Summary

First Solar beats Canadian Solar on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.