Short interest figures for the middle of November were released after the close on Monday, 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 23 stocks in the S&P 1500 that have more than a third of their free-floating shares sold short. Through yesterday’s close, the 23 stocks listed below have risen an average of 2.31% (median: 1.23%) compared to the 1.03% gain for the S&P 1500. So, there hasn’t been much of a performance disparity in either direction.
Of the 23 names listed, 13 are up so far this month with the largest gains coming from Bristow Group (BRS), Lannett (LCI), and Carbo Ceramics (CRR), which are each up over 20%. To the downside, there have also been some big losers with stocks like Frontier Communications (FTR), Red Robin Gourmet (RRGB), and 3D Systems all down over 25%.
In terms of sector representation, over a third of the 23 stocks listed below are from the Consumer Discretionary sector. Of those nine, the most shorted stock is Shake Shack, which has over 60% of its float sold short. The interesting thing about SHAK is that despite the fact that short interest has and continues to be exceptionally high, the stock has been relatively stable, trading in a range between $30 and $40 for the last year.
