First Solar (FSLR) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate CSIQ or FSLR?

Canadian Solar currently has a consensus target price of $14.74, suggesting a potential upside of 18.37%. First Solar has a consensus target price of $228.69, suggesting a potential upside of 23.33%. 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
Canadian Solar	3 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.10
First Solar	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	24 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.87

Which has more risk and volatility, CSIQ or FSLR?

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

Is CSIQ or FSLR 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
Canadian Solar	-0.18%	-4.34%	-1.27%
First Solar	29.72%	16.32%	10.84%

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in CSIQ or FSLR?

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

Which has better earnings & valuation, CSIQ or FSLR?

First Solar has lower revenue, but higher earnings 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
Canadian Solar	$5.99B	0.14	$36.05M	-$0.50	-24.91
First Solar	$4.21B	4.73	$1.29B	$11.76	15.77

Does the media refer more to CSIQ or FSLR?

In the previous week, First Solar had 40 more articles in the media than Canadian Solar. MarketBeat recorded 47 mentions for First Solar and 7 mentions for Canadian Solar. First Solar's average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat Canadian Solar's score of 0.24 indicating that First Solar is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Canadian Solar	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
First Solar	22 Very Positive mention(s)	7 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

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