How to buy Canadian Solar stock | 38.73

Canadian Solar Inc is a solar business based in the US. Canadian Solar shares (CSIQ) are listed on the NASDAQ and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Canadian Solar employs 13,478 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$3.2 billion.

How to buy shares in Canadian Solar

1. Compare share trading platforms. If you're a beginner, look for a platform with low commissions, expert ratings and investment tools to track your portfolio. Narrow down top brands with our comparison table.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and bank information. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for Canadian Solar. Find the stock by name or ticker symbol: CSIQ. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Canadian Solar reaches your desired price. To spread out your purchase, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of USD$38.73, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimize risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Canadian Solar, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Canadian Solar. Optimize your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

How has coronavirus impacted Canadian Solar's share price?

Since the stock market crash in March caused by coronavirus, Canadian Solar's share price has had significant positive movement.

Its last market close was USD$38.73, which is 40.60% up on its pre-crash value of USD$23.005 and 222.75% up on the lowest point reached during the March crash when the shares fell as low as USD$12.

If you had bought USD$1,000 worth of Canadian Solar shares at the start of February 2020, those shares would have been worth USD$699.86 at the bottom of the March crash, and if you held on to them, then as of the last market close they'd be worth USD$1,878.41.

Canadian Solar share price

Use our graph to track the performance of CSIQ stocks over time.

Canadian Solar shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2020-10-20.

Latest market close	USD$38.73
52-week range	USD$12 - USD$42.74
50-day moving average	USD$33.9289
200-day moving average	USD$23.9218
Wall St. target price	USD$33.7
PE ratio	9.1553
Dividend yield	N/A (0%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	USD$4.247

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Is it a good time to buy Canadian Solar stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of Canadian Solar Inc by TradingView

This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.

Canadian Solar price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $38.73 from 2020-11-16

1 week (2020-11-20)	0.78%
1 month (2020-10-30)	6.55%
3 months (2020-08-28)	19.10%
6 months (2020-05-29)	106.01%

1 year (2019-11-29)	136.88%
2 years (2018-11-29)	124.26%
3 years (2017-11-29)	118.44%
5 years (2015-11-27)	72.13%

Is Canadian Solar under- or over-valued?

Valuing Canadian Solar stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Canadian Solar's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

Canadian Solar's P/E ratio

Canadian Solar's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 9x. In other words, Canadian Solar shares trade at around 9x recent earnings.

That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.

Canadian Solar's PEG ratio

Canadian Solar's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 0.29. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Canadian Solar's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

Canadian Solar's EBITDA

Canadian Solar's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is USD$546.8 million.

The EBITDA is a measure of a Canadian Solar's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

Canadian Solar financials

Revenue TTM	USD$3.2 billion
Operating margin TTM	11.62%
Gross profit TTM	USD$718.5 million
Return on assets TTM	4.51%
Return on equity TTM	17.75%
Profit margin	8.04%
Book value	$25.4
Market capitalisation	USD$2.6 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting Canadian Solar shares

There are currently 4.4 million Canadian Solar shares held short by investors – that's known as Canadian Solar's "short interest". This figure is 22.1% up from 3.6 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Canadian Solar shares can be evaluated.

Canadian Solar's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

Canadian Solar's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Canadian Solar shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Canadian Solar shares traded daily (recently around 2.5 million). Canadian Solar's SIR currently stands at 1.78. In other words for every 100,000 Canadian Solar shares traded daily on the market, roughly 1780 shares are currently held short.

However Canadian Solar's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Canadian Solar shares, or, against the total number of tradable Canadian Solar shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Canadian Solar's short interest could be expressed as 0.07% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Canadian Solar shares in existence, roughly 70 shares are currently held short) or 0.097% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Canadian Solar shares, roughly 97 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Canadian Solar.

Find out more about how you can short Canadian Solar stock.

Canadian Solar share dividends

We're not expecting Canadian Solar to pay a dividend over the next 12 months.

Canadian Solar share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Canadian Solar's shares have ranged in value from as little as $12 up to $42.74. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NASDAQ average) beta is 1, while Canadian Solar's is 1.5825. This would suggest that Canadian Solar's shares are more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

Canadian Solar overview

Canadian Solar Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells solar ingots, wafers, cells, modules, and other solar power products. The company operates through two segments, Module and System Solutions (MSS), and Energy. The MSS segment engages in the design, development, manufacture, and sale of a range of solar power products, including standard solar modules, specialty solar products, and solar system kits that are a ready-to-install packages comprising inverters, racking systems, and other accessories. It also provides engineering, procurement, and construction; and operation and maintenance (O&M) services. This segment's energy solution products include solar inverters and energy storage systems for utility, commercial, residential, and specialty product applications. Its O&M services include inspections, repair, and replacement of plant equipment; and site management and administrative support services for solar power projects. The Energy segment engages in the development and sale of solar power projects; and operation of solar power plants and sale of electricity. As of January 31, 2020, this segment had a fleet of solar power plants in operation with an aggregate capacity of approximately 880.2 MWp. The company's primary customers include distributors, system integrators, project developers, and installers/EPC companies. Canadian Solar Inc. sells its products primarily under its Canadian Solar brand name; and on an OEM basis. It has operations in North America, South America, Europe, South Africa, the Middle East, Australia, Asia, and internationally. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Guelph, Canada.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of Canadian Solar is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 23.431% of Canadian Solar shares are held by insiders and 49.127% by institutions.

• How many people work for Canadian Solar?

  Latest data suggests 13,478 work at Canadian Solar.

• When does the fiscal year end for Canadian Solar?

  Canadian Solar's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is Canadian Solar based?

  Canadian Solar's address is: 545 Speedvale Avenue West, Guelph, ON, Canada, N1K 1E6

• What is Canadian Solar's ISIN number?

  Canadian Solar's international securities identification number is: CA1366351098

• What is Canadian Solar's CUSIP number?

  Canadian Solar's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 136635109