Short sellers retreated from Sirius XM just enough between the September 15 and September 30 settlement dates for it to slip out of the top spot on the list of the most shorted stocks traded on the Nasdaq. Frontier Communications is the king of that mountain for now.

However, the notable movers here were AMD and Novavax, with double-digit percentage increases in their short interest in the final weeks of last month. Others in the top six all saw only modest gains in the number of their shares short.

Note that still only two Nasdaq stocks had more than 100 million shares short by the end of the most recent period. In fact, the top two remain far ahead of the pack.

Frontier Communications

The number of shares short in Frontier Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: FTR) has increased in eight of the past nine periods. It rose most recently by less than 2% to more than 228.27 million. That was 19.6% of the telecom’s float, as well as the highest short interest in at least a year. The days to cover dropped from more than 10 to less than nine as the average daily volume grew again.

Frontier was a contrarian pick from Merrill Lynch in the period. Short sellers watched the shares retreat more than 4% in the short interest period, while the Nasdaq was up around 1%. The stock is less than 2% higher in the past week to $4.15. Shares have changed hands between $3.81 and $5.85 in the past year.

Sirius XM

The more than 220.92 million Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) shares short by the end of September was less than 4% lower than on the previous settlement date. That was also the sixth period in a row of short interest above 200 million. Some 13.0% of the company’s float was sold short most recently. At the current average daily volume, it would take nearly five days to cover all short positions.

There has been some speculation that weak car sales could be a headwind for Sirius XM. Sirius shares ended the two-week period fractionally higher, largely rising and falling along with the Nasdaq in that time. The stock has retreated somewhat since and is currently trading in the same vicinity as at the beginning of the year. It closed most recently at $4.08, in a 52-week trading range of $3.29 to $4.44.

MannKind

MannKind Corp.’s (NASDAQ: MNKD) short interest, at more than 99.69 million shares most recently, was only fractionally higher than on the prior settlement date. Yet, that was the greatest number of shares short since April, as well as 31.0% of the total float. The daily average volume increased enough during the period for the days to cover to retreat from about 27 to near 24.

MannKind is one of the companies looking to develop an alternative to the EpiPen. Shares ended the two weeks about 12% lower, though they were down more than 19% at one point. The stock is now more than 58% lower year to date to $0.60. The recent 52-week low is $0.55, and the 52-week high of $3.79 was seen nearly a year ago.

AMD

By the end of month, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) had around 93.37 million shares short. That was up from nearly 80.60 million on the previous settlement date, as well as the highest level of short interest since April. The latest reading totaled 12.6% of the company’s float. The days to cover ticked up to more than two from a year-to-date low of around one last month.

Analysts were chasing AMD higher during the period, and the ending share price was more than 14% higher than on the previous settlement date, though it has retreated almost 6% since. The stock reached a new 52-week high of $8.00 back in August, but shares closed at $6.50 on Tuesday. The 52-week low is $1.75.

Novavax

The number of Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) shares short, at more than 76.31 million by the end of the month, was more than 20% higher than in the previous period. And it was 29.2% of the total float, as well as the highest level of short interest in the past year. As the daily average volume in the period surged, the days to cover dropped from almost eight to about one.

The failure of a Phase 3 trial to meet its objectives hit the stock hard as the period got underway. The stock dropped more than 84% and recovered very little before the two weeks was up. Shares are now down about 79% since the beginning of the year and closed on Tuesday at $1.77, in a 52-week range of $1.16 to $9.23.

Intel

More than 75.54 million Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) shares were sold short as of the most recent settlement date. That was essentially the same as at the start of the period, and it totaled 1.6% of the company’s float. Note that the short interest hit a year-to-date low in mid-August. As of the end of September, it would take less than three days to cover all short positions.

Intel raised its guidance early in the latest period, and the share price ended the two weeks up more than 3% from on the previous settlement date. It is more than 8% higher year to date, and the stock closed at $37.27 on Tuesday. Shares have changed hands between $27.68 and $38.36 per share in the past 52 weeks.

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And Others

Rounding out the top 10 were Opko Health Inc. (NASDAQ: OPK), Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) and JD.com Inc. (NASDAQ: JD). NVIDIA stood out here for its more than 11% rise in the number of shares short during the settlement period.

Lingering just outside the spotlight of the top 10 are the likes of BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), which each saw at least a little retreat in their short interest.

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