Solar Stocks See Increasingly Volatile Short Interest

For China-based firms, the percentage of shares short is not available because the companies are also listed on other exchanges.

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) saw short interest rise by 4.3% to 2.35 million shares, or about 7.2% of the company’s total float. In the two-week short interest period to October 31, shares rose 11.8% and were up 43.7% through Monday’s close. The stock’s 52-week range is $1.95 to $29.90.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) saw short interest fall by 11.7% to 10.5 million shares, which represents 14.9% of the company’s float. In the two-week short interest period to October 31, shares rose 13.4% and were up 42.3% through Monday’s close. The stock’s 52-week range is $22.52 to $63.44.

GT Advanced Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: GTAT) showed a decrease of 1.3% in short interest, to 32.8 million shares, about 26.9% of GT’s float. In the two-week short interest period to October 31, shares dropped more than 7% and were up 26.7% through Monday’s close. The stock’s 52-week range is $2.61 to $10.60.

SunEdison Inc. (NYSE: SUNE) showed a decrease of 10.6% in short interest, to 19.91 million shares. About 7.6% of the company’s stock is now short. In the two-week short interest period to October 31, shares fell 0.1% and were up 35.5% through Monday’s close. The stock’s 52-week range is $2.15 to $13.05.

SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) saw a short interest rise of 16.6% to 13.78 million shares, 32.9% of the company’s total float. In the two-week short interest period to October 31, shares dropped 0.5% and were up 6.8% through Monday’s close. The stock’s 52-week range is $3.90 to $35.39.

JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) showed a rise of 12.3% in short interest to 3.7 million shares. In the two-week short interest period to October 31, shares fell 3.4% and were up nearly 21% through Monday’s close. The stock’s 52-week range is $2.90 to $12.45.

LDK Solar Co. Inc. (NYSE: LDK) saw short interest rise by 20.5% to 6.35 million shares. In the two-week short interest period to October 31, shares fell 21% and were down 15.8% through Monday’s close. The stock’s 52-week range is $0.81 to $2.32.

SolarCity Corp. (NASDAQ: SCTY) showed a rise of 15.8% in short interest to 8.48 million shares, or 27.8% of the company’s float. In the two-week short interest period to October 31, shares rose 14.8% and were up 15.5% through Monday’s close. The stock’s 52-week range is $9.20 to $65.30.

Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) saw a short interest drop of 39.1% to 3.83 million shares. In the two-week short interest period to October 31, shares fell nearly 12% and were up 1.5% through Monday’s close. The stock’s 52-week range is $2.04 to $17.84.

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) showed a rise of 19.1% in short interest to 16.2 million shares. In the two-week short interest period to October 31, shares fell 24.3% and were down about 12.5% through Monday’s close. The stock’s 52-week range is $1.25 to $8.77.

Yingli continues to gain mounting interest from short sellers. This is the fourth consecutive period that short interest has risen, even though the share price fell by nearly a quarter. The shorts do not think the decline is over. Most of the solar stocks showed large swings in either direction, indicating either that the stocks are still overvalued or that there has been some profit-taking among the short sellers.