Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ – Get Free Report) and Nextpower (NASDAQ:NXT – Get Free Report) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
52.4% of Canadian Solar shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.4% of Nextpower shares are held by institutional investors. 21.5% of Canadian Solar shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Nextpower shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Canadian Solar and Nextpower’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Canadian Solar | -1.87% | -4.20% | -1.10% |
| Nextpower | 16.46% | 28.18% | 15.62% |
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Canadian Solar | $5.48 billion | 0.21 | -$104.13 million | ($2.52) | -6.82 |
| Nextpower | $3.56 billion | 5.61 | $585.88 million | $3.83 | 35.11 |
Nextpower has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Canadian Solar. Canadian Solar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nextpower, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Canadian Solar and Nextpower, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Canadian Solar | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2.08 |
| Nextpower | 0 | 5 | 18 | 1 | 2.83 |
Canadian Solar presently has a consensus target price of $18.36, suggesting a potential upside of 6.89%. Nextpower has a consensus target price of $136.54, suggesting a potential upside of 1.53%. Given Canadian Solar’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Canadian Solar is more favorable than Nextpower.
Risk & Volatility
Canadian Solar has a beta of 1.44, indicating that its stock price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nextpower has a beta of 1.6, indicating that its stock price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Nextpower beats Canadian Solar on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Canadian Solar
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. It offers standard solar modules and battery storage solutions; solar system kits, such as inverters, racking systems, and other accessories; power electronic products; and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services, as well as operates battery energy storage projects. The Recurrent Energy segment engages in the development, construction, maintenance, and sale of solar power and battery storage projects; and operation of solar power plants; and sale of electricity. This segment provides operation and maintenance (O&M) services, including monitoring, inspections, repair, and replacement of plant equipment; and site management and administrative support services for solar projects, as well as asset management services. It has a fleet of solar and battery energy storage plants in operation with an aggregate capacity of approximately 1,005 MWp and 600 MWh. It serves distributors, system integrators, project developers, and installers/EPC companies, as well as utility companies or grid operators, public utilities, licensed suppliers, corporate offtakers, and commercial, industrial or government end users. It sells its products primarily under its Canadian Solar brand name. Canadian Solar Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is based in Guelph, Canada.
About Nextpower
Nextpower, formerly known as Nextracker, an energy solutions company, provides solar trackers and software solutions for utility-scale and distributed generation solar projects in the United States and internationally. The company offers tracking solutions, which includes NX Horizon, a solar tracking solution; and NX Horizon-XTR, a terrain-following tracker designed to expand the addressable market for trackers on sites with sloped, uneven, and challenging terrain. It also provides TrueCapture, a self-adjusting tracker control system, which boosts solar power plant production by optimizing the position of individual tracker row in response to site features, such as varying topography and changing weather conditions; and NX Navigator, that assists solar power plant owners and operators in monitoring, controlling, and protecting their solar projects. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Fremont, California. As of March 31, 2024 Nextracker Inc. (Nextpower) was formerly a subsidiary of Flex Ltd.
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