Oil Drop’s Real Losers: Alternative Energy Stocks (TAN, PBW, LDK, ESLR, JASO, CSIQ, AKNS, HOKU, ZOLT, FCEL, CPST, AMSC)

Oil has fallen off the proverbial cliff into the roll date and as the concerns that the eurozone’s weakness is going to spread enough to really hurt the recovery of the global oil demand.  And then there is the de-risk trade taking place where traders and investors are taking money out of riskier assets.  The true losers in this move are alternative energy stocks, and that is double the case if you are of the same mind that alternative energy stocks may represent nothing more than leveraged bets on the price of oil and fossil fuels.

Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (NYSE: TAN) at $6.38 is down 4.35%, and the PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy (NYSE: PBW) is down 4.56% at $8.44.  Many of the component companies in these ETFs and some of the other alternative energy stocks we follow in our own universe of stocks in the sector are down well over 5%.  We wanted to take a look at ten of the biggest losers in our alternative energy universe:

LDK Solar Co. Inc. (NYSE: LDK) is down 5.10% at $5.58.

Evergreen Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESLR) is down 5.66% at $0.91.

JA Solar Holdings, Co., Ltd. is down 5.5% at $4.84.

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is down 3.67% at $11.56.

Akeena Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKNS) is down 8.25% at $0.89.

Hoku Corporation (NASDAQ: HOKU) is down 5.41% at $2.80.

Zoltek Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) is down 7.8% at $9.68.

FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) is down 9.87% at $2.10.

Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ: CPST) is down 10.3% at $1.04.

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) is giving back some as well with shares down a surprising 6.8% at $28.78.

This is not always the case, but generally the riskier the alternative energy company the more  the company has to lose in general with fossil fuels getting cheaper and cheaper.  The more solid players tend to have more and more orders in place where at least the existing orders already on the books are deemed less at-risk.

The odd thing is that some of these moves are on somewhat weak volume, so some is just a buyer’s strike while each is trying to find equilibrium (if that really exists).  Still, throw in European woes (large alternative energy clients) and a growing sense that there is a higher chance that the contagion will make economic recovery much less than expected and you have a ballgame.

JON C. OGG