Short Interest on the Rise in Solar, Alternative Energy Stocks

By Paul Ausick Updated Jan 12, 2:58PM EST · Published Feb 10, 7:35AM EST

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Short Interest on the Rise in Solar, Alternative Energy Stocks — © Thinkstock

[cnxvideo id=”655408″ placement=”ros”]Short interest moves among solar and alternative energy stocks were generally upward during the two-week reporting period that ended on January 31. Of the companies we watch, short interest rose on two of three solar stocks and on three of four alternative energy stocks.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) saw short interest rise by 9.7% to 16.98 million shares, which represents about 22.2% of the company’s float. Days to cover rose from eight to nine. In the two-week short interest period, the stock’s share price dropped about 10.6%. Its 52-week trading range is $28.60 to $74.29, and it closed at $32.23 on Thursday, up about 2.2% for the day.

Short interest in SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) increased by 0.8% to 18.71 million shares, or 31.9% of the company’s float. In the short interest period, the share price fell about 9.2%. The stock’s 52-week range is $6.00 to $25.29 and it closed at $6.97 on Thursday, down about 0.1%. Days to cover rose from six to seven.

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Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) saw a drop of 15.5% in short interest during the final weeks of January. Some 12.6% of the total float, 5.57 million shares, were short, and days to cover dropped from seven to five. The company’s share price fell by 5.6% over the two weeks, and shares closed Thursday at $12.02, up about 0.6% for the day. The 52-week range is $10.25 to $23.56.

During the two-week period, FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) posted an increase of 6.8% in short interest. Some 3.21 million shares were short as of January 31. The stock closed at $1.25 (a new 52-week low) on Thursday, down about 3.9% for the day. The 52-week high is $8.88. Shares dropped about 21% in the short interest period, and days to cover fell from seven to five.

Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG) saw short interest increase by 4.8% to 34.25 million shares. Days to cover fell from 15 to eight, and about 18.1% of the company’s shares were short. In the two weeks to January 31, the share price fell by about 13.8%. The stock’s 52-week range is $0.83 to $2.28, and shares closed Thursday at $0.85. That was down about 3.4% for the day after posting the new 52-week low.

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) saw a rise of about 2% in short interest to 6.91 million shares. About 6% of the company’s float was short and days to cover rose from three to five. The share price fell by about 11.9% in the period. The stock closed at $2.55, up 1.2%, on Thursday, in a 52-week range of $2.25 to $4.80.

And Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX) saw short interest drop by 19.2% in the two-week period to 1 million shares, about 2.6% of the company’s float. Days to cover fell from three to one. The stock price dipped by about 16% in those two weeks. Shares closed at $7.95 on Thursday, up 10.7% on the day, in a 52-week range of $3.15 to $10.95.

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About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.