This year has not a good one for Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LL). Back in the spring, the company was thrown into the spotlight on a TV news talk show and accused of having carcinogens in its products. Despite fiercely denying these accusations, the damage was done and the stock absolutely tanked.
Shares of Lumber Liquidators hit a multiyear low in August as a result of the allegations that “60 Minutes” brought against it. In short, “60 Minutes” alleged that the company’s products contained a high level of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.
In a filing, Lumber Liquidators asserted that its products comply with regulations set by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), currently the only regulator of composite core emissions in the United States. The company also claims that the test used by “60 Minutes” “does not measure a product according to how it is actually used by consumers.”
However this was a pretty weak defense, and the on-air statement by the company’s founder and chairman did little to help the situation.
As a result, short sellers piled into the stock. Perhaps the most famous was Whitney Tilson, who predicted that the stock would go to zero. Tilson is known for founding the Kase Capital Management hedge fund, as well as holding a huge bearish bet on Lumber Liquidators. However, it would appear that there has been a change of heart. Tilson is now only covering his short position in Lumber Liquidators.
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The most recent short interest data on Lumber Liquidator totaled 10.56 million shares, for the November 30 settlement date, while at the previous settlement date it was 10.90 million.
As 2015 comes to a close, Lumber Liquidators absolutely underperformed the broad markets, with the stock down nearly 80%.
Shares of Lumber Liquidators traded up about 23% at $17.27 on Tuesday, with a consensus analyst price target of $15.89 and a 52-week trading range of $11.62 to $69.99.
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