The 5 Most Shorted Nasdaq Stocks at the End of 2014

The number of Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) shares short increased by about 38.88 million to almost 153.18 million late in the month. That was 6.6% of the total float and still the second lowest level of short interest in at least a year. At the current average daily volume, it would take about six days to cover all short positions. The company recently said it added more subscribers in 2014 than it expected. The stock’s price rose about 4% in the two-week short interest period, and it has fallen but recovered since. Shares closed Monday at $3.57, in a 52-week range of $2.98 to $3.76.

The short interest in Frontier Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: FTR) slipped about 5% from the previous period to almost 151.17 million shares, or 15.2% of the telecom’s float. That more than erased the gain in the previous period. It would take more than 17 days to cover all short positions. There was speculation in the period that Frontier could follow Windstream Communications and spin off assets into a real estate investment trust. Frontier shares gained almost 6% in the two weeks to the end of the year, outpacing the S&P 500. Shares closed Monday at $6.75, in a 52-week range of $4.40 to $7.24.

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A more than 4% decline in short interest brought Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) to about 135.19 million shares short at the end of the period. That totaled 2.8% of the company’s float, and it was the fourth consecutive period of falling short interest. The days to cover remained about five. During the period, Intel made our list of top large-cap stocks of 2014. Short sellers watched the share price climb more than 4% but give back most of that gain in the two-week period, then fall further and recover since. Shares closed at $36.60, in a 52-week range of $23.50 to $37.90.

BlackBerry Ltd.’s (NASDAQ: BBRY) short interest, at more than 118.64 million shares as of the end of the month, was more than 6% higher than in the previous period. That was the greatest number of shares short in the past year, and a whopping 24.2% of the total float. The days to cover dropped from more than 11 to about eight. The company may have few fans on Wall Street, but it did see an upgrade in late December. Shares closed at $10.12, in a 52-week range of $7.01 to $12.54. They surged more than 16% in the two-week short-interest period but have retreated some since.

The number of Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) shares short grew by about 4% in a period. The more than 105.74 million shares short at the end of the month represented 4.9% of the float, and it was the sixth consecutive period of short interest of more than 100 million shares. It would take less than nine days to cover all short positions. No surprise: the company scored poorly in a key annual customer service survey in December. The stock grew more than 5% in the two-week short interest period but has given up more than 3% since. Shares closed Monday at $56.17, in a 52-week range of $47.74 to $59.30.

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Rounding out the top 10 were Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN), MannKind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD), Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) and Windstream Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: WIN). Of these, only Windstream saw rising short interest as the year came to a close.