MMR

Wall Street Whacks First Solar, Inc., SunPower Corporation

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) and SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) are continuing to struggle, following bearish initiations at JMP Securities

Sep 8, 2016 at 9:53 AM
facebook X logo linkedin


Solar stocks are feeling the heat today. Specifically, First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) and SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) are trading lower following some negative attention on Wall Street. Below, we'll take a closer look at how one bearish analyst firm's decisions are weighing on FSLR and SPWR.

FSLR is down 2.4% at $37.55, after JMP Securities initiated coverage with an "underperform" opinion and a $32 price target. This puts the solar stock just a stone's throw from its nearly three-year low of $36.75, tagged last month.

Amid First Solar, Inc.'s technical struggles, options traders have grown bearish. The stock's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 1.19 ranks in the 81st percentile of its annual range. Option players aren't the only skeptics -- short interest exploded by 31.5% during the last two reporting periods, and now accounts for roughly one-fifth of FSLR's float.

Meanwhile, SPWR has dropped 1.8% to trade at $10.03, quickly approaching its late-August three-year low of $9.62. Weighing on the solar stock is JMP's "underperform" initiation, as well as a $6 price target -- territory not charted since early 2013.

Despite these woes, options traders have been buying to open calls over puts at a rapid-fire rate at the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX. SunPower Corporation's 10-day call/put volume ratio sits at a top-heavy 9.15, just 6 percentage points shy of an annual peak. However, with 28.5% of the stock's float sold short, it's likely some calls were purchased by short sellers hedging against a surprise rally in SPWR shares.

Sign up now for Schaeffer's Market Recap to get all the day's big stock movers, must-know technical levels, and top economic stories straight to your inbox.

 

Follow us on X, Follow us on Twitter

 

Nvidia and its powerful chips are the face of artificial intelligence.

But while everyone’s patting Nvidia on the back for record earnings…

It’s quietly moved on to the next phase of AI it plans to conquer…

Nvidia recently unveiled essential blueprints for this crucial $1 trillion pivot.

Click here now and find out about the three companies Nvidia absolutely needs to succeed in this vital new AI frontier.
 (ad)