Nasdaq Stocks With the Largest Short Positions

For Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), short interest rose 1.2% to 209 million shares. About 4.2% of Intel’s float is now short, and the days to cover is seven. The stock’s price rose fractionally during the two-week period and is down about 3.8% year-to-date. The stock closed at $24.80 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $20.66 to $27.12.

Short interest in Frontier Communications Corp. (NYSE: FTR) rose 2.9% in the two-week period to February 14. Some 205.29 million shares are currently held short, representing 20.7% of the company’s float and a days-to-cover number of 21. The company’s famously generous dividend yield slipped a bit in the past two weeks, from 8.8% to 8.6%. Shares closed Wednesday at $4.94, in a 52-week range of $3.71 to $5.15, and lost about 2.2% in the two-week period.

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) saw its short interest drop 15.6% to 184.79 million shares, about 6.4% of the stock’s float. Days to cover is down to three. The pending purchase of the rest of the company’s stock by Liberty Media has just about closed down short interest here. The stock closed at $3.57 Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $2.95 to $4.18.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) has 110.97 million shares held short, up 4.1% from the number held short on January 31 and 10.5% of the company’s float. Days to cover is three for the heavily traded stock. Shares have gained 7% in the past two weeks, bringing the shorts back into the action. Shares closed at $24.22 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $8.20 to $25.68.

Short interest in BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) rose 1% in the first two weeks of February to a total of 94.51 million shares, or 19.4% of BlackBerry’s float. Days to cover is five for this highly volatile stock. Short sellers are being cautious with this one, as every little snippet of good sends the shares higher. Go figure. Shares closed at $10.33, in a 52-week range of $5.44 to $16.82. BlackBerry’s share price dropped more than 8% in the two-week period.

Windstream Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: WIN) pays a massive dividend yield of 12.7%, and it takes a special kind of gambler to give up that kind of return on a short bet. Short interest in Windstream rose 1% in the most recent two-week period to 92.91 million shares. That is 15.7% of the company’s float, and 12 days to cover at average trading volume. Shares closed at $7.93 Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $7.18 to $8.96. For the two-week period, Windstream shares gained 4.75%.