The 5 Most Shorted Nasdaq Stocks as Q2 Begins

Note that the five most shorted Nasdaq stocks all had more than 95,000 shares short at the end of the period.

The number of Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) shares short increased by around 11.1 million to almost 141.50 million early in the month. That was 5.9% of the total float, as well as the end of a four-period streak of shrinking short interest. At the current average daily volume, it would still take more than six days to cover all short positions. Sirius announced new service in Nissan vehicles next year during the period. Short sellers watched the share price rise 7.7% during the two weeks between settlement dates. Shares closed Friday at $3.97, in a 52-week trading range of $2.98 to $4.04.

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A 10.3% drop in short interest brought Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) to more than 115.23 million shares short. That totaled 2.4% of the company’s float and was the lowest number of shares short in at least a year. The days to cover dropped to less than three for the first time this year. Analysts were pleased with Intel’s recent earnings report, and shares gained 4.3% in the short interest period, while the Nasdaq was up 1.3%. The stock is now down 11.6% year-to-date and closed most recently at $32.08. Shares have traded between $25.74 and $37.90 in the past year.

The short interest in Frontier Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: FTR) dropped 1.1% from the previous period to around 111.40 million shares, or 11.2% of the telecom’s float. That was the smallest number of shares short in the past year. The days to cover is still more than 13. During the short interest period, the stock retreated about 1%. It is down almost 4% since. Shares closed Friday at $7.03, in a 52-week trading range of $5.44 to $8.46.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) had more than 99.97 million shares short by the middle of the month, down 3.2% from the previous settlement date. The most recent reading totaled 15.8% of the company’s float, and the days to cover is about eight. AMD’s quarterly report was overshadowed by Intel’s results. The share price ended the two weeks about where it began it, though it has dropped almost 14% since. The stock closed at $2.30 on Friday, and the 52-week range is $2.14 to $4.80.

MannKind Corp.’s (NASDAQ: MNKD) short interest, at about 96.88 million shares as of mid-April, was up 1.2% from the previous period. Note that it was 37.9% of the total float, as well as the highest short interest in at least a year. The days to cover remains more than 28. RBC lowered its price target on MannKind in mid-April. Shares ended last week at $4.80, in a 52-week range of $4.45 to $11.48. The stock saw a share price decline of 0.9% in the two-week short-interest period.

ALSO READ: Apple Short Interest Flat Ahead of Earnings

Rounding out the top 10 were BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY), Windstream Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: WIN), Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) and Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA). Zynga had the biggest move here, a gain of more than 14%, lifting it into the top 10. Comcast’s short interest dropped to its lowest level so far this year.