Freedom Holding broker delivers big downgrade to small cap JinkoSolar

Freedom Broker has revised downward its recommendation and target price on JinkoSolar Holding, a Chinese small-cap solar panel manufacturer listed in New York. It now rates the stock a “sell,” even after it slashed its target price by more than half, citing as reasons narrowing margins, a net loss in the fourth quarter, and a bleak management outlook for 2025.  

Freedom Broker has downgraded its view on JinkoSolar stock, lowering its recommendation from “buy” to “sell” and cutting its target price by 53% to $16 per share, according to a note seen by OnInvest. The new target price is 18% below the last closing price of $19.59 per share.  

Freedom Broker revised its outlook after JinkoSolar released its fourth-quarter financial results. The gross margin plunged 8.9 percentage points year over year to 3.6%. This sharp decline translated into a net loss of CNY473.7 million ($64.9 million), versus a net profit of CNY29.3 million ($4.1 million) in the same period of 2023, Freedom Broker noted.  

A supply/demand imbalance has pushed solar module prices lower, pressuring profits across the entire solar supply chain, explained CEO Xiande Li in the earnings release.  

Freedom Broker cautions that JinkoSolar will likely continue to face low panel prices in 2025, citing management comments.  

Following the earnings release, investment bank UBS also lowered its target price on March 27 — trimming it by a more modest 12% to $22 per share, according to Yahoo Finance. However, the bank maintained its “hold” rating.  

According to MarketWatch, seven Wall Street analysts currently cover JinkoSolar. Three rate it a “sell,” three have it as a “hold,” and only one rates the stock a “buy.” Their average target price is a sky-high $182.80 per share — nine times the company’s March 28 closing price.  

Chinese solar panel manufacturers are grappling with steep financial losses. “The industry may have entered a deep adjustment period,” JinkoSolar stated in its fourth-quarter report.  

The company suggested that inefficient players without global expansion potential — to go where panel prices are higher — are likely to be squeezed out of the market, which should help rebalance supply and demand.  

JinkoSolar also noted that in December, manufacturers signed an agreement to curb low prices and reduce production. As a result, solar panel prices have already begun to rise, the company claimed.