2 Short Seller Favorites Hit New Highs on Earnings

By Trey Thoelcke Updated Jan 12, 3:12PM EST · Published Feb 3, 7:05AM EST

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2 Short Seller Favorites Hit New Highs on Earnings — © Thinkstock

[cnxvideo id=”625481″ placement=”ros”]We are a couple of weeks into the new administration, and the markets have pulled back somewhat from recent highs. Short sellers may be keeping an eye on two of their favorite stocks in the days ahead, because Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: BAC) and Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI), have hit new 52-week highs. These are two of the most shorted stocks traded on the Nasdaq.

Between the December 30 and January 13 settlement dates, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) had more than 88.62 million shares short. That was up from more than 86.61 million in the previous period. Also it was the third period in a row of rising short interest, as well as 11.4% of the company’s float. At the latest average daily volume, it still would take about two days to cover all short positions.

AMD shares did very well in 2016, but the mid-month share price was more than 6% lower than on the previous settlement date, most of that decline coming at the end of the period. However, the stock reached a new 52-week high of $12.66 on Thursday, after posting better-than-expected fourth-quarter results earlier in the week. The 52-week low is all the way down at $1.81. The stock has a consensus price target of $10.96.

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The more than 265.87 million Sirius XM shares short by the middle of January was around 5% lower than on the previous settlement date, as well as the lowest level of short interest since October. Some 16.1% of the company’s float was sold short most recently. The days to cover dropped from almost 14 to around nine as the average daily trading volume picked up.

Sirius said during the period that it had exceeded it subscriber guidance for 2016. Its shares ended the two-week period more than 3% higher, most of that gain coming in the first few days of the year. The Nasdaq was up about the same amount between the settlement dates. Year to date, Sirius shares have risen more than 6% to hit a new 52-week high of $4.82 late Thursday, also on its latest earnings report. The 52-week low is $3.29, and the consensus analyst target is $5.01.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.