Head-To-Head Survey: Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) versus Maxeon Solar Technologies (NASDAQ:MAXN)

Maxeon Solar Technologies (NASDAQ:MAXN) and Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) are both small-cap technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Maxeon Solar Technologies and Canadian Solar, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Maxeon Solar Technologies	1	0	0	0	1.00
Canadian Solar	3	7	3	0	2.00

Canadian Solar has a consensus price target of $19.36, suggesting a potential upside of 28.41%. Given Canadian Solar’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Canadian Solar is more favorable than Maxeon Solar Technologies.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

47.7% of Maxeon Solar Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.4% of Canadian Solar shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Maxeon Solar Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 21.5% of Canadian Solar 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.

Volatility & Risk

Maxeon Solar Technologies has a beta of 1.26, meaning that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Canadian Solar has a beta of 1.52, meaning that its stock price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Maxeon Solar Technologies and Canadian Solar”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Maxeon Solar Technologies	$176.41 million	0.07	-$614.30 million	($163.07)	-0.00
Canadian Solar	$5.60 billion	0.18	-$104.13 million	($2.52)	-5.98

Canadian Solar has higher revenue and earnings than Maxeon Solar Technologies. Canadian Solar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Maxeon Solar Technologies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Maxeon Solar Technologies and Canadian Solar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Maxeon Solar Technologies	N/A	N/A	N/A
Canadian Solar	-1.87%	-4.20%	-1.10%

Summary

Canadian Solar beats Maxeon Solar Technologies on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Maxeon Solar Technologies

Maxeon Solar Technologies, Ltd. designs, manufactures, markets, and sells solar panels and related solar system components worldwide. The company provides interdigitated back contact and shingled solar cells and panels under the SunPower brand. It offers its products to dealers, project developers, system integrators, distributors, resellers, and residential and small-scale commercial customers. The company was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in Singapore.

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.