Canyon Capital Advisors’ New Bets on Solar Energy: Sunedison Inc (SUNE), JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (JKS), Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ)

The investment managers continued to show their interest in the solar industry by snatching up shares of Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ), another new solar energy stock in their equity portfolio. Canyon Capital Advisors’ current position in the Canadian firm includes 295,700 shares valued at $9.87 million. Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) has witnessed a 44.69% increase in its share price year-to-date. It is the world’s third-largest solar panel manufacturer and Xiaohua Qu, CEO of Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ), is estimating a shortage of solar panels in the next few months because of an increasing demand for the product. The company reported quarterly revenue of $860.9 million, which was 84.6% higher than the year-ago period. Canadian Solar Inc. reported an increase in its revenue from Europe and America during the quarter as well. Some of the biggest shareholders in the company include Donald Chiboucis‘ Columbus Circle Investors, Millennium Management, and Quentec Asset Management.

SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) is another solar stock in the equity portfolio of Canyon Capital Advisors, with the fund owning 148,000 shares of the company, valued at $4.63 million. Following a similar trend as the previous solar companies, the shares of SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) have grown 25.73% in the current year, signalling that this may indeed have been a wise time to jump on this segment. It was a disappointing first quarter for the commercial and residential solar products provider however, with its commercial revenue dropping 36% year-over-year. Further, the residential revenue of the firm dropped 6% year-over-year along with a 49% drop in its power plant revenue. D E Shaw, Point72 Asset Management, and Masters Capital Management are among the primary investors of SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR).

With 169,295 shares valued at $3.71 million, Solaredge Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SEDG) is another stock in Friedman’s equity portfolio. In terms of solar stock holdings with the highest year-to-date returns, Solaredge actually topped all comers with 70.87% growth in its share price. Solaredge Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SEDG) will play a huge part in Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s Powerall Home Battery System, which is designed to offer electricity when the sun goes down. Solaredge Technologies has a current market cap of $1.41 billion and its shares are trading at $35.43. Crispin Odey‘s Odey Asset Management has one of the largest positions in Solaredge Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SEDG), which had its IPO towards the end of the first quarter.

Disclosure: None