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 earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, risk and media sentiment.

Do institutionals & insiders believe in FSLR or CSIQ?

92.1% of First Solar shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.4% of Canadian Solar shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of First Solar 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, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts prefer FSLR or CSIQ?

First Solar currently has a consensus target price of $225.73, indicating a potential upside of 22.79%. Canadian Solar has a consensus target price of $14.16, indicating a potential upside of 10.79%. Given First Solar's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Solar is more favorable than Canadian Solar.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Solar	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	24 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.87
Canadian Solar	2 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.22

Which has higher 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	4.69	$1.29B	$11.76	15.63
Canadian Solar	$5.99B	0.14	$36.05M	-$0.50	-25.56

Does the media prefer FSLR or CSIQ?

In the previous week, First Solar had 28 more articles in the media than Canadian Solar. MarketBeat recorded 35 mentions for First Solar and 7 mentions for Canadian Solar. First Solar's average media sentiment score of 1.05 beat Canadian Solar's score of 0.52 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	22 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Canadian Solar	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is FSLR or CSIQ more profitable?

First Solar has a net margin of 29.72% compared to Canadian Solar's net margin of -0.18%. First Solar's return on equity of 16.32% beat Canadian Solar's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Solar	29.72%	16.32%	10.84%
Canadian Solar	-0.18%	-4.34%	-1.27%

Which has more volatility and risk, FSLR or CSIQ?

First Solar has a beta of 1.52, meaning that its share price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Canadian Solar has a beta of 1.38, meaning that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Solar beats Canadian Solar on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.