Clean Energy Fuels extends 2-day gain to as much as 36% as social media chatter surges

• Clean Energy Fuels extended its 2-day streak to as much as 36% on Friday.
• The jump came as chatter on social media about the company continues to spread.
• Clean Energy Fuels recently inked a deal with Amazon to provide low and negative carbon renewable natural gas (RNG).

Clean Energy Fuels stock extended its 2-day gain to as much as 36% on Friday as social media chatter about the firm spiked 445%, according to data from HypeEquity.

The Newport Beach-based natural gas company was founded by T. Boone Pickens and Andrew Littlefair as a spinoff from Mesa Petroleum called Pickens Fuel Corp. in 1996.

BC Gas then purchased 75% of the company in 2001, and the name was changed to Clean Energy Fuels Corp.

The company went public in 2007, raising $138 million, and now operates over 530 natural gas fueling stations in 43 states and Canada.

Clean Energy Fuels has become a social media darling on a number of platforms in the past few days, but particularly on Reddit. According to data from QuiverQuant, the company saw a 582% increase in average mentions on Reddit this Thursday alone.

Clean Energy Fuels may have become a Reddit target due to its high short interest rate. Redditors and retail traders have targeted heavily shorted companies hoping to force a short squeeze in recent months.

7% of the Clean Energy Fuels' float is now sold short, but that's down 8% from last month as short-sellers have covered amid rising share prices, according to data from Shortsqueeze.com.

On May 6, Clean Energy Fuels turned in mixed results in its first-quarter earnings release due to an ongoing impact from COVID-19.

The company posted revenue of $77.1 million, topping analysts' estimates by $1.58 million. However, the figure represents a 10.4% year-over-year decline in revenue, and GAAP EPS also fell short of expectations at -$0.04 per share.

Still, Clean Energy Fuels' recent deal with Amazon to provide low and negative carbon renewable natural gas (RNG) for the company has boosted its prospects.

"If the world is really going to tackle the issue of climate change, all of us need to find solutions that work both environmentally and economically, and that is exactly what this agreement supports," Andrew Littlefair, CEO and president of Clean Energy, said in a statement regarding the deal.

"Clean Energy was the first to commercially make RNG available as a vehicle fuel in 2013 and now fuels tens of thousands of vehicles across the country every day," he added.

Amazon could also take an up to 20% stake in Clean Energy Fuels over the next decade as a part of a warrant released in the deal.

Clean Energy stock traded up 3.89% as of 11:38 a.m. ET on Friday.