Short Sellers Take a Breather on Solar, Alt Energy Stocks

Energy

Published: April 12, 2016 7:40 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 10:54 am

Short interest moves among solar and alternative energy stocks were mixed during the two-week reporting period that ended on March 31. In the solar sector, four of the five companies we watch saw short interest drop. Three of four alt energy stocks also saw a decrease in short interest during the period.

Solar and alt energy short sellers appear to have taken a breather in the two-week period to March 31. Not only did short interest generally fall, but days to cover among the alt energy stocks uniformly rose, indicating that the action was somewhere else.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) saw short interest decrease by 13.2% to 5.39 million shares, which represents 7.2% of the company’s float. Days to cover remained unchanged at three. In the two-week short interest period, the stock’s share price slipped by about 3.4%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $40.25 to $74.29, and it closed at $59.96 on Monday, down about 1.1% for the day. The 52-week high was posted March 18.

SunEdison Inc. (NYSE: SUNE) showed an increase of 5.7% in short interest, to 126.41 million shares. About 40.2% of the company’s float was short, and days to cover remained at two. In the latest short interest reporting period, the share price fell by nearly 75%. The stock closed at $0.39 on Monday, up 8.2% for the day, in a 52-week range of $0.20 to $33.45. The 52-week low was posted on April 4, following a report in the Wall Street Journal that the company was preparing to file for bankruptcy protection in coming weeks.