California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 6,951 Shares of Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 68,314 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock after selling 6,951 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Canadian Solar were worth $760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Shah Capital Management boosted its stake in 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 last quarter. IvyRock Asset Management HK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Canadian Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,440,000. Greenwoods Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,738,000. Robotti Robert grew its holdings in Canadian Solar by 55.2% during the fourth quarter. Robotti Robert now owns 487,880 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $5,425,000 after buying an additional 173,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in Canadian Solar by 494.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 115,328 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $1,932,000 after buying an additional 95,924 shares during the last quarter. 52.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSIQ opened at $6.76 on Wednesday. Canadian Solar Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.66 and a 12-month high of $21.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $9.83 and its 200-day moving average is $11.70. 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 firm has a market cap of $447.23 million, a P/E ratio of -56.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.33.

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The solar energy provider reported ($1.47) EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. Canadian Solar had a return on equity of 0.02% and a net margin of 0.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.02) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Canadian Solar Inc. will post -0.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CSIQ. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Canadian Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Canadian Solar in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Canadian Solar from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Canadian Solar from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Canadian Solar from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.84.

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.