Shorting Tesla Motors (TSLA), Zoltek (Nasdaq:ZOLT) and American Superconductor (Nasdaq:AMSC)

Tesla Motors (TSLA), Zoltek (Nasdaq:ZOLT) and American Superconductor (Nasdaq:AMSC) are all the target of shorts, especially from hedge funds no longer believing the so-called renewable energy stocks will be as viable with the change of leadership in the U.S.

Canaccord noted, "According to Bloomberg, hedge funds have increased their short interest in U.S. renewable energy stocks to the highest level in a year, elevating bets against Tesla Motors especially. The bearish sentiment comes as government support for low-polluting technologies is faltering: with the recent Republican wins in U.S. mid-term elections, U.S. President Barack Obama has said he may be unable to reduce U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions. Republicans are seeking to roll back Environmental Protection Agency rules limiting carbon venting, ease curbs on coal mining and may try to block billions of dollars in federal subsidies for clean power. An analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in London thinks this Republican opposition is a "huge deal". He noted the lack of an international agreement on climate change and short-term uncertainty on policy support across the globe "makes the sector fairly susceptible to predatory trades from hedge funds.” Seventeen percent of the freely traded shares of the 35 U.S. stocks in the WilderHill New Energy Index are currently sold short, compared with 16% in October and 15% in August, Bloomberg notes. That’s almost four times the 4.4% short ratio of the S&P 500. The most-shorted stock in this index is California electric carmaker Tesla Motors; investors had shorted 65% of Tesla’s free-float as of November 15. Others that are heavily shorted include Zoltek (Nasdaq:ZOLT), a maker of carbon fiber for blades used in wind turbines, and American Superconductor (Nasdaq:AMSC), whose converters connect turbines to power grids."

Tesla closed Friday at $31.49, down by $0.86, or 2.66 percent. American Superconductor was down to $33.36, falling $0.10, or 0.30 percent. Zoltek was at $9.61, up by $0.09, or 0.95 percent.