Analyzing Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) & Solarwindow Technologies (OTCMKTS:WNDW)

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

52.4% of Canadian Solar shares are held by institutional investors. 67.3% of Solarwindow 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 endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Solarwindow Technologies	N/A	-42.41%	-40.25%
Canadian Solar	-1.86%	-4.95%	-1.32%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Solarwindow Technologies and Canadian Solar, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Solarwindow Technologies	0	0	0	0	0.00
Canadian Solar	4	5	3	1	2.08

Canadian Solar has a consensus target price of $18.36, suggesting a potential upside of 15.72%. Given Canadian Solar’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Canadian Solar is more favorable than Solarwindow Technologies.

Volatility and Risk

Solarwindow Technologies has a beta of -8.1, suggesting that its share price is 910% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Canadian Solar has a beta of 1.44, suggesting that its share price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Solarwindow Technologies and Canadian Solar”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Solarwindow Technologies	N/A	N/A	-$2.26 million	($0.03)	-11.33
Canadian Solar	$5.60 billion	0.19	-$104.13 million	($2.50)	-6.35

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

Summary

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

About Solarwindow Technologies

SolarWindow Technologies, Inc. engages in the development of transparent electricity-generating coatings and methods under LiquidElectricity Coatings brand. The company's coatings generate electricity by harvesting light energy from natural sun, artificial light, and low, shaded, or reflected light conditions, which is applied to rigid and flexible glass, and plastic surfaces to transform ordinary surfaces into organic photovoltaic devices. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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.