September can be a volatile time for the markets, and judging by most shorted stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange, expectations among short sellers were on the rise between the August 31 and September 15 settlement dates. Overall, short interest in these stocks grew.
GE led that trend with a double-digit percentage gain in the number of its shares short, though it did not rise into the top six. Bucking the trend were J.C. Penney, with a modest decline in short interest, and Rite Aid, which saw almost no change during those two weeks.
Note that the top six stocks on the list all had more than 120 million shares short at the end of the most recent settlement period. In fact, all the top 10 had short interest of more than 100 million shares.
Chesapeake Energy
The number of Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s (NYSE: CHK) shares short has risen in most periods so far this year, and it remains the most shorted NYSE stock. It saw a short interest gain of more than 1% to more than 199.86 million most recently. That was 22.3% of the company’s float. At the mid-month posted daily average trading volume, it would take about six days to cover all the short positions.
Chesapeake saw at least one analyst downgrade earlier this month. Yet its share price ended the two weeks almost 10% higher, and it has more than doubled that gain since then. The S&P 500 saw a little more than a 1% gain between the settlement dates. The stock closed Tuesday’s trading at $4.37 a share, up from a recent 52-week low of $3.55, and now it is more than 36% lower year to date. Shares have changed hands as high as $8.20 in the past 52 weeks.
AT&T
The more than 186.73 million AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) shares short on the most recent settlement date was more than 5% higher than two weeks earlier, once again affirming its place in the number two spot on the list. Also it represented 3.0% of the float and was the highest level of short interest in at least a year. As of the middle of this month, it would take around six days to cover all short positions.
Like its rivals, AT&T announced its deals for the newly revealed iPhones. In the first two weeks of September, short sellers watched the share price retreat by around 5% but then recover most of that loss. The stock closed most recently at $38.72 a share, which was about 10% lower than at the beginning of the year. The 52-week trading range for those shares is $35.10 to $43.03.
Weatherford International
Weatherford International PLC (NYSE: WFT) rises to the third spot on the list as the number of shares short increased almost 6% in the initial two weeks of September. That ended three consecutive periods of dwindling short interest. The more than 145.28 million shares reported most recently represented 14.9% of the total float. The days to cover reading ended the period at around eight.
Weatherford is among the companies with the most layoffs seen this year. The company’s shares were around 15% higher at the end of the two-week period, though they have pulled back somewhat since then. The share price was last seen at $4.37. That was up from the multiyear low of $3.39 in early July, but handily less than the 52-week high of $7.09 from back in March.
24/7 Wall St.Alibaba
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) saw the number of its shares short rise more than 2% from the previous period to the highest level of short interest in at least a year. And note that the nearly 139.80 million shares reported totaled 5.5% of the Chinese e-commerce giant’s float. The daily average volume increased again during the period, though the days to cover remained more than eight.
Alibaba’s board chair and vice chair recently announced plans to sell some 21 million shares. The share price rose almost 3% in the first half of September. However, the stock pulled back recently and closed Tuesday at $167.02 a share. That is more than 54% higher than six months ago. The 52-week low of $86.01 was seen last December, and the 52-week high of $180.87 last week.
J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) saw the number of its shares short fall from over 142.40 million in the previous period to around 136.29 million. The prior reading was the greatest in the past year, and the latest is the 12th in a row above 100 million, as well as a whopping 47.1% of the struggling retailer’s float. The daily average trading volume decreased again during the period, and the days to cover rose to about 10.
This year, J.C. Penney also was among the companies laying off the most workers. Its share price rose less than 9% in the two-week short interest period, though here too it retreated afterward. The stock closed most recently at $3.98 a share. The 52-week low, seen last month, was $3.45, while the 52-week high of $10.74 was reached last December.
Rite Aid
The most recently reported number of Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) shares short was about the same as on the prior settlement date, a second breather after increasing sharply in the two previous periods. More than 124.18 million shares were short on the most recent settlement date. That represented 11.9% of the retailer’s total float. The average daily trading volume rose from a 52-week low in prior the period, and the days to cover fell to about six.
The stock has suffered since the merger deal with Walgreens turned sour. Its shares ended the two weeks more than 8% higher, most of that gain coming at the end of the period. They have retreated again since then, and the stock closed most recently at $2.29 a share. That is still near the 52-week low of $2.21. Rite Aid shares hit a 52-week high of $8.77 early in the year.
And the Rest
Rounding out the top 10 were General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL) and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). As mentioned, GE shares sold short surged during those two weeks, about 23%, to a year-to-date high.
Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) and Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) also saw notable bumps in their short interest, but not enough to lift them into the top 10 most shorted NYSE stocks. Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) also lingered beyond the spotlight of the top 10.
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