Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ), one of the world’s largest solar power companies, today announced that its results will exceed prior guidance for the fourth quarter and full year 2015. The Company plans to report its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2015 on Thursday, March 10. Management will host a conference call to discuss results and its outlook at that time. Separately, the Company announced the suspension of its at-the-market common share sale program due to market conditions.
For the fourth quarter of 2015, Canadian Solar now expects its total solar module shipments to be in the range of approximately1, 350 MW to 1,400 MW, compared to its previous guidance, which was in the range of 1,300 MW to 1,350 MW, including approximately 43 MW of shipments to the Company’s utility-scale solar projects that will not be recognized as revenue in the fourth quarter of 2015. The Company now expects its total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2015 to be in the range of $ 1.02 billion to $1.07 billion, compared to previous guidance which was in the range of $930 million to $980 million. Gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2015 is expected to be above the high end of previous guidance, which was in the range of 13% to 15%.
For the full year 2015, Canadian Solar now expects its total solar module shipments to be in the range of approximately 4.63 GW to 4.68 GW including approximately 300 MW of module shipments that will not be recognized as revenue, compared to its previous guidance for total module shipment recognized in revenue, which was in the range of 4.15 GW to 4.2 GW. The Company now expects its total revenue for the full year 2015 to be in the range of $3.35 billion to $3.4 billion, compared to previous guidance, which was raised on November 15, 2015 to $3.28 billion to $3.33 billion from $2.8 billion to $3.0 billion previously.
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar, remarked: “Our stronger than expected results reflect continued health and robust demand in the global solar market, combined with Canadian Solar’s Tier 1 position, strong bankability, increased sales in higher ASP regions and the benefit of favorable currency moves. We continue to execute to our business strategy, which balances the rapid expansion of our utility-scale solar power project pipeline, and the sustained global leadership of our solar module business. We expect the growth of global solar demand to continue based on the compelling environmental and cost advantages solar energy offers and its low single-digit penetration rate of the worldwide energy market.”
At-the-Market Program Update
The Company has suspended its previously announced at-the-market equity offering program, under which it offered its common shares throughCredit Suisse as its sales agent, and reserved the rights to reactive or terminate the program at any time. As of the date of this release, under the program the Company issued 500,000 common shares at the weighted average price of $27.73, resulting in net proceeds of $13.6 million after deducting discounts and commissions but before offering expenses. The program will remain suspended as long as current market conditions continue. (Original Source)
Shares of Canadian Solar closed last Friday at $16.39. CSIQ has a 1-year high of $40.08 and a 1-year low of $14.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $21.45 and its 200-day moving average is $21.62.
On the ratings front, Canadian Solar has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. In a report issued on February 1, Roth Capital analyst Philip Shen maintained a Buy rating on CSIQ, with a price target of $40, which represents a potential upside of 144.1% from where the stock is currently trading. Separately, on January 21, FBR’s Carter Driscoll maintained a Buy rating on the stock and has a price target of $32.
According to TipRanks.com, which ranks over 7,500 financial analysts and bloggers to gauge the performance of their past recommendations, Philip Shen and Carter Driscoll have a total average return of -18.8% and -23.4% respectively. Shen has a success rate of 23.9% and is ranked #3546 out of 3579 analysts, while Driscoll has a success rate of 12.5% and is ranked #3488.
The street is mostly Bullish on CSIQ stock. Out of 4 analysts who cover the stock, 4 suggest a Buy rating . The 12-month average price target assigned to the stock is $26.00, which represents a potential upside of 58.6% from where the stock is currently trading.
Canadian Solar Inc is a solar power company. The Company designs, develops and manufactures solar wafers, cells and solar power products.
