Shorts prevail as SunPower, Volcon, Upstart (UPST) stocks plunge

Short-sellers have lost a fortune this year as American equities have continued soaring. The Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 indices have surged to a record high and analysts expect that this trend may continue this year. 

The most optimistic analysts are from Societe Generale, who believe that the S&P 500 index will jump to $5,500 this year. Other highly optimistic analysts are from the likes of Bank of America, Yardeni Research, and Barclays.

Still, some short-sellers have made a fortune this year. The biggest winners were Fisker short-sellers as the company has now effectively collapsed and is being delisted by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Fisker had a short interest of over 50% recently.

SunPower (SPWR) stock price has collapsed by more than 46% this year, benefiting short-sellers since the company has a short interest of 78.2%. SunPower has plunged amid rising concerns about the solar energy industry.

American and European solar companies are going through major challenges because of China, which has been flooding the market with solar panels. While governments have introduced stimulus measures, they are highly inadequate. Chinese panels are cheaper even with the tariffs. 

SunPower stock has also plunged after receiving a Nasdaq delisting notice for delaying its 10k release. It also published weak financial results.

Volcon (VLCN) stock has also plunged by over 84% this year, which is notable since it has a short interest of 48%. The company has retreated because of the ongoing woes in the electric vehicle industry.

UpStart (UPST), another popular company, has dropped by 36%, benefiting short-sellers thanks to its 37% short interest. Other highly-shorted companies that have crashed this year are Cutera, iRobot, Sunnova Energy, and Luminar Technologies.

Some short-sellers have lost substantial sums of money as some of these companies have surged. Intuitive Machines has gone through a short squeeze as it soared by over 140% this year. Other companies like MicroCloud Hologram (HOLO), Ocean Biomedical (OCEA), and Imperial Petroleum.