Among the most heavily shorted stocks traded on the Nasdaq between the November 14 and November 28 settlement dates, only BlackBerry saw a significant rise in short interest. The number of Frontier Communications shares short was about the same as in the previous period, but short sellers retreated from the rest of the top eight. However, the top five all had more than 100,000 shares short at the end of the period.

A 9.2% drop in short interest did not keep Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) from rising to the top spot on the list. Some 164.75 million shares were short at the end of the period. That totaled 3.4% of the company’s float, and it was the second consecutive period of falling short interest. The days to cover fell to about five. Intel offered a surprising dividend hike during the period, and short sellers watched the share price rise more than 9% in the two-week period. Shares ended Tuesday at $36.89, in a 52-week range of $23.50 to $37.90, and up more than 42% year-to-date.

The number of Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) shares short decreased by about 83.78 million to almost 163.50 million, which was 7.0% of the float. That was the lowest level of short interest in more than a year, though it would still take more than seven days to cover all short positions. Analysts expect Sirius to post a quarterly profit of pennies per share again this period and the next. The stock’s price rose more than 2% in the two-week period but has retreated since. Shares closed at $3.49 on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $2.98 to $3.89.

ALSO READ: Short Sellers Flee Microsoft

In the period when we identified it as one of the best stocks of 2014, the short interest in Frontier Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: FTR) rose a just bit from the previous period to almost 152.76 million shares, or 15.4% of the telecom’s float. That was the highest number of shares short since July. It would take more than 19 days to cover all short positions. Shares rose less than 2% in the two weeks to November 30, but the share price has dropped about 5% since. Shares closed at $6.60, in a 52-week range of $4.39 to $7.24.

BlackBerry Ltd.’s (NASDAQ: BBRY) short interest, at more than 111.37 million shares as of month’s end, was 12.4% higher than in the previous period. And the number of shares short represents 22.7% of the total float. The days to cover rose from almost six to more than nine. Morgan Stanley downgraded BlackBerry stock during the period. Shares closed Tuesday at $10.47, in a 52-week range of $5.44 to $12.54, and posted a share price decline of more than 8% for the two-week short-interest period.

The number of Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) shares short shrank 8.6%, in a period when it and rivals continued to bleed subscribers. The more than 105.61 million shares short at the end of the month represent 4.9% of the float, the fourth period in a row of short interest of more than 100 million shares. It would take more than eight days to cover all short positions. The stock saw a more than 4% gain in the two-week period and closed at $56.19 Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $47.74 to $57.49. It is up about 8% year-to-date.

Rounding out the top 10 were Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN), MannKind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS). The final two stocks in this set saw short interest rise 5% or less in the period, but that was enough to bring Staples into the top 10.

ALSO READ: The 5 Most Heavily Shorted Stocks on the New York Stock Exchange

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.