Investing

Big End of July Short Interest Changes in Cult and Controversial Stocks (ALU, BAC, BKS, DNDN, DMND, FB, FSLR, GMCR, GRPN, LNKD, NFLX, NOK, RSH, RIMM, SIRI)

The short interest data is out from the July 31 settlement date and we have compared these levels to the prior July 13 settlement date. It seems that there were some big changes with some key cult stocks and actively traded stocks seeing big changes in that period.

24/7 Wall St. screened out selective short interest data with the latest changes from the following: Alcatel Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS), Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN), Diamond Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND), Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR), Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN), LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD), Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH), Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) and Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI).

We have added in some selective color if applicable:

Alcatel Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU) saw a gain in the short interest after a prior drop, and the new short interest rose to 18.48 million shares at the July 31 date, versus 15.48 million shares on July 13.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) was hardly changed at 224.5 million shares as of July 31, versus 225.4 million shares at the July 13 date.

Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) saw a small increase in the short interest to 13.95 million shares on July 31, versus 13.45 million shares short at July 13.

Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) saw another gain, up to 40.8 million shares, versus 38.2 million shares on July 13.  This is the largest short interest in months.

Diamond Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) basically has stopped being a target of short sellers and now as the short interest on July 31 was 9,088,321 shares, versus 9,009,968 shares on July 13.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) saw a jump in its short interest, and it now sits at the highest level since its IPO at 61.325 million shares in the short interest as of July 31. The record so far had been 60.154 million shares short on June 29.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) saw a slight gain in the short-selling activity as the short interest rose to 29.27 million shares as of July 31, versus 28.01 shares at July 13. We would note that this is again the highest the short interest has been in at least a year.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) saw another big jump, with the short interest at 35.09 million shares versus 29.59 million shares on July 13.

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) saw yet another big gain to a record 55.2 million shares in the July 31 short interest, versus 37.8 million shares short as of July 13. The bets against it are on the rise.

LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) saw a small gain in the short interest to 4.91 million shares at July 31, versus 4.807 million as of July 13.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) saw a large gain in the short interest to 15.42 million shares, versus 12.476 million shares in the July 13 short interest.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) saw a large pick up in the short interest as of July 31, up to 202.7 million shares from 165.6 million shares as of July 13. This was the highest short interest since April 13.

RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) saw yet another gain in the short interest as its prospects continue to dim. The July 31 settlement date showed some 45/7 million shares short versus 43.4 million shares as of July 13. This was a record for at least a year.

Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) saw a slight drop in the short interest down to 89.55 million shares short as of July 31 versus 92.14 million shares short on July 13. This remains elevated but perhaps short sellers think the easy money has been made.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) saw another pop higher in the short interest with some 329.9 million shares short as of July 31, versus 304.4 million shares short as of July 13. This was the largest short interest in at least a year.

JON C. OGG

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