August is often a period of summer doldrums in the stock markets. Yet this year, those investors, traders, analysts and others who haven’t gone away on holiday have seen the markets reclaiming all-time highs (in a record bull run), an earnings season that was stronger than many expected, and an economy that is strong despite budding trade wars and rising rates and inflation.
Judging by the most shorted stocks traded on the Nasdaq between the July 31 and August 15 settlement dates, those sellers were focused on just one favorite. While all others at the top of the list saw shrinking short interest, in Caesars Entertainment it grew by nearly 20%.
Note that still just two Nasdaq stocks had more than 100 million shares short as of the most recent settlement date.
Sirius XM
The nearly 192.89 million Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) shares held short after the first two weeks of this month were less than 2% fewer than on the previous settlement date, or 14.6% of the available float. It was also only the third time in at least a year that the short interest was less than 200 million. The average daily volume rose a little in the period, and the days to cover remained at more than 14.
Sirius remains a holding at Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. The stock ended the short interest period trading more than 1% lower, though it has risen marginally since then. The Nasdaq was up about 1% between the settlement dates. Sirius stock closed at $6.96 on Friday. The 52-week low of $5.17 was reached early this year, while the $7.70 multiyear high was seen back in June.
AMD
By the middle of August, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) had more than 146.32 million shares short. That was nearly 13% less than the total on the previous settlement date, and it was the lowest level of short interest in the past year. The latest reading still represented 15.8% of the company’s float. Here, the average daily volume dropped sharply, and the number of days it would take to cover all short positions remained at about two.
Like Sirius, AMD was a short seller favorite pulling back from a recent 52-week high. Its shares ended the latest short interest period more than 4% higher, though they had been up more than 7% at one point in the period. The stock closed trading most recently at $23.98 a share, which is more than 66% higher since the end of May and two cents shy of the 52-week high hit earlier in the day. Shares have changed hands as low as $9.04 apiece in the past year.
Caesars Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment Corp.’s (NASDAQ: CZR) rose a couple of notches on the list as its short interest increased for the 13th straight period, and the latest gain was more than 16.4 million shares. The more than 98.96 million shares on the mid-month settlement date represented 17.2% of the total float, and it was the greatest number of shares short in at least a year. The days-to-cover figure dropped from about nine to less than four as the average daily volume surged to a year-to-date high.
Caesars and other gaming stocks are still expected to benefit from the recent Supreme Court ruling on sports betting. Its share price ended the most recent two-week short interest period almost 17% lower, with most of that decline coming after earnings were posted early in the month. The stock closed most recently at $10.35 per share, which is down almost 17% since the beginning of the year. Its 52-week trading range is $8.55 to $14.50, and that low was seen at the beginning of this month.
24/7 Wall St.Intel
Approximately 80.13 million Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) shares were sold short as of the most recent settlement date. That represented 1.7% of the chipmaker’s float and was under 4% less than in the prior period. Note that, early in the year, short interest was above 100 million. As of the middle of this month, it would take more than three days for investors to cover all their short positions, even as the average daily volume shrank a bit.
Intel was downgraded by Barclays and Goldman Sachs, among others during the period. The August 15 closing share price was about 2% lower than on the previous settlement date, though it had been up by more than 4% earlier in the period. Intel closed most recently at $47.66 a share, down from the multiyear high of $57.60 in June. The 52-week low is $34.46 per share. And the share price was last seen at less than 2% higher year to date.
Neovasc
Short interest at Neovasc Inc. (NASDAQ: NVCN) totaled more than 78.08 million shares by the middle of the month, after pulling back about 6% from the prior settlement date. That was the fifth period in a row in which the number of shares sold short dropped. The days to cover fell from a year-to-date high of more than six during the latest period to about five as the average daily volume rose.
Nasdaq has begun the process of delisting this Canadian cardiovascular device maker. Short sellers watched the stock jump more than 31% (less than a penny per share) on published study results but give up most of that gain in those two weeks. The most recent closing share price was just above the 52-week low of $0.03. Shares are around 94% (about 57 cents) lower year to date and so don’t appear to have much further to sink. The stock has traded as high as $1.89 a share in the past year.
Opko Health
Opko Health Inc.’s (NASDAQ: OPK) short interest slipped by less than 478,000 from in the previous period to more than 76.78 million shares on the most recent settlement date. That was the second greatest level of short interest so far this year, and it represented 23.6% of the total float. The daily average trading volume fell off, and the days to cover figure grew from almost 10 to more than 13.
For well more than a year, the CEO frequently has bought batches of Opko shares. The stock saw a gain of about 1% this past week and closed at $5.63 a share on Friday. The 52-week trading range is $2.66 to $7.24. By the end of the two-week short-interest period, the share price was around 3% lower, though it had been up more than 10% at one point.
And Others
Rounding out the top 10 were Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT), TherapeuticsMD Inc. (NASDAQ: TXMD) and Geron Corp. (NASDAQ: GERN). Comcast was the standout here, with a notable drop in the number of its shares short in those two weeks. Mattel was essentially flat, and the others saw marginal bumps in their shirt interest in that time.
Lingering outside the spotlight of the top 10 most shorted Nasdaq again were Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SGYP), MiMedx Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MDXG) and Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX). Note that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) saw a double-digit percentage gain in its short interest, but it remains well out of the top 10.
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