Volatility roared back into the markets in early February, bringing with it the long overdue 10% correction. Sell-offs can be good for short sellers, depending on how they are positioned and how nimble they are. While it looks like they stuck with many of the most shorted stocks traded on the Nasdaq between the January 31 and February 15 settlement dates, there were a few notable moves.
Short sellers got out of the way of Comcast and Synergy Pharmaceuticals during the initial weeks of this month, and Cisco managed to drop out of the top 10 list. Otherwise, moves in the most shorted Nasdaq stocks were pretty mild overall.
Note that still just three Nasdaq stocks had more than 100 million shares short as of the most recent settlement date.
Sirius XM
The approximately 215.84 million Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) shares short after the first two weeks of this month was barely any fewer than on the previous settlement date. The latest reading totaled 15.2% of the available float and was the lowest level of short interest in the past 52 weeks. Though the average daily volume retreated a bit in the period, the days to cover remained about nine.
At least one analyst saw Sirius XM shares as a bargain during the correction. The stock ended the short interest period about where it began it, despite being down more than 6% during the sell-off. The Nasdaq pulled back about 2% between the settlement dates. Like the broader markets, Sirius has inched higher in the past week, and it reached a multiyear high of $6.38 on Tuesday. The 52-week low of $4.73 was seen last May.
AMD
By the middle of February, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) had about 165.38 million shares short. That was less than a million more than the total on the previous settlement date, and it was still the second lowest level of short interest since October. The latest reading represented 18.4% of the company’s float. The average daily volume increased in that time, but the number of days it would take to cover all short positions remained less than three.
Expectations were high during the short interest period for AMD’s budget gaming chip. Its February 15 closing share price was about 10% lower than on the previous settlement date, though it has recovered more than 7% since then. The stock closed trading on Tuesday at $12.53 a share, which still is about 14% higher year to date. Shares have changed hands at between $9.70 and $15.65 apiece in the past year.
Intel
More than 103.76 million Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) shares were sold short as of the most recent settlement date. The figure shrank by about 1% in the period to the smallest reading since last August. It represented 2.2% of the company’s float as well. As of the middle of this month, it would take around three days for investors to cover all their short positions.
Intel was one of the stocks hit hard in the panic selling earlier this month. Yet the shares ended the short interest period only about 4% lower, after being down around 12% at one point during those two weeks. Intel closed most recently at $49.91 a share, after hitting a 52-week high of $50.90 earlier in the day. The 52-week low is $33.23. And the share price now is less than 7% higher year to date.
24/7 Wall St.Comcast
Comcast Corp.’s (NASDAQ: CMCSA) short interest jumped almost 34% in the previous period but then surrendered most of that gain early this month. The almost 67.52 million shares on the most recent settlement date was more in line with the level of short interest so far this year, and it represented 1.5% of the total float. However, the days to cover figure slipped to about two as the average daily volume rose for the third period in a row.
The latest Fifty Shades film gave Comcast a bit of a boost in the short interest period. While its share price still ended the two-week period down more than 5%, it was more than 11% lower at one point in the interval. The stock dropped more than 7% on Tuesday and closed at $36.66 per share. That is down more than 10% since the beginning of the year. The 52-week trading range is $34.78 to $44.00.
Synergy Pharmaceuticals
Short interest in Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SGYP) totaled nearly 66.15 million shares by the middle of February, after a pullback of more than 10 million from the prior settlement date. Still, that represented a whopping 26.9% of the total float, even if it was the fewest shares short since last September. The days to cover rose from more than eight to over 11 during the latest period as the average daily volume shrank.
This biopharmaceutical company is focused on treatments for constipation and irritable bowel syndrome. Short sellers watched the stock fall about 19% but then end those two weeks down less than 7%. The most recent closing share price was $1.88, which is more than 23% lower year to date. The shares have changed hands between $1.68 and $5.96 apiece in the past year.
Micron Technology
The number of Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) shares short totaled more than 62.53 million on the latest settlement date. That was up more than 6% from two weeks earlier to the second-highest level in at least a year, and it represented 5.7% of the total float. The average daily trading volume grew to a year-to-date high, though the days to cover figure remained at a more than one.
Raised guidance impressed analysts during the period and buoyed shares during the market panic. By the end of the short-interest period, the share price was more than 3% higher, and the stock has continued to climb since that time. It ended Tuesday’s trading at $48.58 a share, in a 52-week range of $23.32 to $49.89. The share price currently is more than 11% higher than it was at the start of the year.
24/7 Wall St.And Others
Rounding out the top 10 were Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT), Opko Health Inc. (NASDAQ: OPK) and TherapeuticsMD Inc. (NASDAQ: TXMD). The big gainer among these was Microsoft, with a surge of more than 19% in its short interest. Meanwhile, Mattel slipped out of the top six with a modest decline in the number of its shares short.
Note that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) also saw a double-digit percentage gain in short interest, but it fell short of the top 10 in the most recent period. Lingering along with it outside of the spotlight of the top 10 most shorted Nasdaq stocks were Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) and Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX).
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