Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Short Interest: "A Closer Look at SunPower Corporation (SPWRA) and First Solar, Inc. (FSLR)"

Sunpower is trading down a couple percent, FSLR is up a percent with the NASDAQ down 1%.
From Schaeffer's Research:

SunPower Corporation (SPWRA) and First Solar Inc (FSLR) both appear on today's short interest scan. That is notable because it follows a similar appearance last Friday. In other words, these heavily shorted stocks appear to be on the move so it is worth delving into the situation. Here is the data on SunPower.

SunPower Corporation (SPWRA)
Price Chart Courtesy of Thomson Reuters

According to data collected by our Quantified Analysis department, 27% of the stock's float is sold short. However, the total number of shares sold short has been declining since July. This suggests that short sellers may be in a covering phase. The weekly price chart isn't exactly exciting in terms of net movement but it does show a downtrend has evolved into a basing period. The stock has been bouncing along support near 20 so keep that level in mind. The remaining item is ratings from Wall Street which show that 11 of 36 analysts (31%) rank the stock with a buy rating. Given the lack of an uptrend, I wouldn't say that is screaming skepticism, but it does hint there is some potential sideline money watching the action. Overall, the recent rally hasn't changed the longer-term picture but this is at least a step in the right direction.

Now let's discuss First Solar....MORE