Energy

Short Sellers Get Selective With Solar and Alternative Energy Stocks

Jon C. Ogg

Published: August 27, 2019 9:40 am

Last Updated: January 30, 2020 4:55 pm

Short interest moves among solar and alternative energy stocks were mixed during the two-week reporting period that ended in mid-August. We have compared to these to the short interest from July 31’s settlement date and offered color around the percentage of the float or days to cover in most cases.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) saw its short interest contract to 10.19 million shares from 10.75 million. First Solar’s days to cover fell sharply, down to 5.9 from almost 12. First Solar shares were up 2.2% at $62.24 on Monday, and the consensus analyst target price is $77.09. Its market cap is $6.55 billion.

SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) saw its short interest rise to 18.04 million shares from 17.51 million. The days to cover fell to 3.25 from 7.75, according to Nasdaq data, but the shares short as a percentage of its float was last seen at 30%. SunPower has a $1.8 billion market cap.

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) saw another small drop in short interest, down to 3.257 million shares from 3.37 million shares, and that was after a big pop higher to almost 3.5 million shares short in mid-July. Canadian Solar has a $1.37 billion market cap.

SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG) recently closed at $82.38, with a $3.95 billion market cap, and the maker of optimized inverter systems for solar photovoltaic installations saw its short interest drop to 4.25 million shares short from 4.697 million. This was actually the fourth drop in a row, and its short interest was over 10 million shares at the end of 2018.

Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE: BE) is a stock that has disappointed greatly, and cheap natural gas may be hurting its chances of winning new business. It saw its short interest rise to 13.385 million shares from 13.531 million. Almost 22% of its float was short, and it was at 7.3 days to cover. At $4.67, Bloom Energy shares are down from a 52-week high of $38.00, and the market cap is down to $543 million.

FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) saw its short interest tick down to 6.186 million shares in mid-August from 6.507 million at the end of July. FuelCell has seen a big rise in its short interest in 2019, but at $0.33, and with a $41 million market cap, its drop from over $14 has shown how bad the year has been.

Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG) saw its short interest decrease to 44.669 million shares from 46.295 million at the end of July. That short interest had peaked at over 50.7 million shares at the end of June, and it still had a days to cover ratio of over 13.5. Even at $2.15 a share today, Plug Power has a market cap of $510 million.

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) saw its short interest rise to 2.78 million from 2.55 million shares, but this is still well under the 3 million share short interest seen twice earlier in 2019. At $1.96 a share now, it has a market cap of $401 million, and its days to cover ratio was 2.5.