Short Interest Report – 8/10/17

Short interest figures for the end of July were released after the close on Wednesday, so we have just updated our regular report on short interest trends for the market, sectors, and individual stocks for clients.  Below we wanted to quickly highlight the stocks with the highest levels of short interest as a percentage of float.  The list below shows the 16 stocks in the S&P 1500 that have more than 40% of their free-floating shares sold short.  Through early Thursday, the 16 stocks listed below were getting slaughtered with an average decline of 7.7% (median: -4.47%) compared to a decline of 0.78% for the S&P 1500.

Of the 16 names listed, just four stocks are up so far this month, and none of them are up even 5%.  To the downside, there is no shortage of big losers with six stocks down more than 10%, including Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) and Lannett (LCI) which are both down more than 20% in less than eight trading days.  If there is one trend that has been constant nearly all year it is that holding stocks with high short interest has been a recipe for big losses.

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Short Interest Report – 7/26/17

Short interest figures for the middle of July were released after the close on Tuesday, so we have just updated our regular report on short interest trends for the market, sectors, and individual stocks for clients.  Below we wanted to quickly highlight the stocks with the highest levels of short interest as a percentage of float.  The list below shows the 25 stocks in the S&P 1500 that have the highest short interest as a percentage of float (SIPF).  Through early Wednesday, the 25 stocks listed below were up an average of 4.13% (median: 1.23%) compared to a gain of 2.34% for the S&P 1500.

One thing that stands out on the list is that the two stocks in the S&P 1500 with the highest short interest as a percent of float have also been the two best-performing stocks on the list.  As shown, Dillard’s (DDS) has 60.3% of its float sold short and has seen its stock rally 28.9% since the start of July.  Likewise, shares of Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) also have more than 60% of their float sold short and its shares have rallied 57% this month!  To the downside, the two worst performing stocks on the list are retailers Fred’s (FRED) and Big 5 Sporting Goods (BGFV) which have declined 29% and 15%, respectively.  One characteristic of the list that should surprise nobody is that a large percentage of the stocks listed are involved in the retail space.  With Amazon.com (AMZN) continuing to steal share from traditional brick and mortar retailers, these stocks are among the most hated stocks in the world and their short interest figures reflect that

For a more detailed look at short interest data on a regular basis, sign up for a monthly Bespoke Premium membership now!

Bespoke Short Interest Report – 7/13/17

 

Short interest figures for the end of June were released after the close on Wednesday, so we have just updated our regular report on short interest trends for the market, sectors, and individual stocks for clients.  Below we wanted to quickly highlight the stocks with the highest levels of short interest as a percentage of float.  Through the end of June, there were 16 stocks in the S&P 1500 that had more than 40% of their free-floating shares sold short.  Through Wednesday’s close, the stocks on this list were down an average of 2.46% (median: -0.92%) month to date compared to a gain of 0.79% for the S&P 1500 as a whole.  So, in the first half of the month at least, the most heavily shorted stocks are underperforming by a wide margin.

One stock that isn’t lagging the market, though, is Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI).  Through Wednesday, the stock was up over 17% in July, and that doesn’t even include Thursday’s 6% gain after the company raised guidance below the open.  The only other stock listed that is up more than 5% this July is Avis Budget (CAR).  On the downside, shares of retailer Fred’s (FRED) are down over 30% in July, helicopter transportation provider Bristow Group (BRS) is down 14%, while Big 5 Sporting Goods (BGFV) is down 12%.

For a more detailed look at short interest data on a regular basis, sign up for a monthly Bespoke Premium membership now!