What happened Shares of solar energy stock SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) jumped as much as 12.9% in trading on Monday morning as energy stocks overall rose. Shares are up 12.6% at noon EDT and have been moving higher all morning. So what The broad news in the market is that energy stocks are up sharply today. Oil is up 2.4% as I'm writing, in part because Merck is seeking authorization for a COVID-19 treatment, which could help fuel an economic recovery. Image source: Getty Images. In general, higher energy usage and fossil fuel prices should help solar energy stocks, and that's helping the industry today. But these tailwinds for the industry could reverse if the economy doesn't keep growing or fossil fuel demand is held in check. Now what Solar energy stocks in general are up sharply today on the rise in energy commodity prices and a bullish market overall. But SunPower is leading the market, and that could be in part because of its recent shift to focusing on residential solar. The company announced that it's going to focus on residential solar and bought Blue Raven Solar to expand its presence in the space. It's a big bet for the company, but investors are responding positively to the move, and that may be a reason why SunPower is outperforming an already good day for solar stocks. 10 stocks we like better than SunPowerWhen our award-winning analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* They just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and SunPower wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of September 17, 2021 Travis Hoium owns shares of SunPower. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source