The arrival of September means that summer vacation time is over and it’s time to turn attention to the race to the end of the year. This year that includes not only the holiday shopping season but the midterm elections in the United States. Meanwhile, the trade war with China ramps up and interest rates and inflation rise, yet the stock market keeps trading near all-time highs (in a record bull run).
Judging by the most shorted stocks traded on the Nasdaq between the August 31 and September 14 settlement dates, those sellers were cautious overall. The short interest moves were mixed but modest — except for Qualcomm, which leaped into the top six as short sellers piled on.
Note that now four Nasdaq stocks had more than 100 million shares short, as of the most recent settlement date.
Sirius XM
The more than 192.69 million Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) shares held short after the first two weeks of this month were less than 2% lower than on the previous settlement date, or 14.6% of the available float. It was only the fifth time in at least a year that the short interest was less than 200 million. The average daily volume recovered from a year-to-date low in the period, and the days to cover fell from more than 17 to near 13.
Merrill Lynch sees big potential upside in Sirius shares. The stock ended the short interest period trading only a bit higher, but it has fallen off sharply since then. The Nasdaq pulled back more than 1% between the settlement dates. Sirius stock closed at $6.27 on Tuesday, after retreating about 11% in the past 90 days. 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 September, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) had almost 151.90 million shares short. That was up more than 3% from the total on the previous settlement date, which was the second lowest level of short interest in the past year. The latest reading still represented 16.3% of the company’s float. And the average daily volume surged to a 52-week high, so the number of days it would take to cover all short positions shrank to less than one.
AMD has seen a handful of price target hikes recently. Its shares ended the latest short interest period more than 30% higher, though they leveled off afterward. The stock closed trading most recently at $32.57 a share, which is more than 115% higher than three months ago, but down from a recent 52-week high of $34.14. Shares have changed hands as low as $9.04 apiece in the past year.
Qualcomm
More than 136.8 million Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) shares were sold short as of the most recent settlement date. That represented 9.3% of the chipmaker’s float and was a gain of more than 357% from in the prior period. That was by far the highest number of shares short in the past year. As of the middle of this month, it would take almost nine days for investors to cover all their short positions at the posted average daily volume.
Barclays initiated coverage on Qualcomm with an Overweight rating during those two weeks. The September 14 closing share price was about 10% higher than on the previous settlement date, though it has pulled back somewhat since then. The stock was last seen trading at $72.74 a share, down from the 52-week high of $76.50 last week. The 52-week low is $48.56 per share. And the share price is around 5% higher than it was 90 days ago.
24/7 Wall St.Caesars Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment Corp.’s (NASDAQ: CZR) remains on the list as its short interest increased for the 15th straight period, and the latest gain was by more than 3.3 million shares. The more than 108.37 million shares posted for the mid-month settlement date represented 19.0% 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 over nine to less than eight as the average daily volume increased.
At least one key analyst was willing to take a big gamble on Caesars in the short interest period. Its share price ended the first two weeks of this month about 3% higher, despite being down more than 8% at one point. The stock ended Tuesday’s at $10.35 per share, which is down more than 4% over the past 90 days. Its 52-week trading range is $8.55 to $14.50, and that low was seen at the beginning of last month.
Opko Health
Opko Health Inc.’s (NASDAQ: OPK) short interest shrank by around 2 million shares from in the previous period to more than 74.04 million on the most recent settlement date. That was the third consecutive period of falling short interest, and it represented 22.7% of the total float. The daily average trading volume doubled, though, and the days to cover figure dropped from a year-to-date high near 24 to less than 12.
Opko’s CEO was among those recently charged by the SEC in a so-called pump-and-dump scheme. The stock dropped over 20% before trading was halted on the Nasdaq for about a week. By the end of the short-interest period, the share price was more than 35% lower, and the stock was last seen trading at $3.99 per share. That’s closer to the 52-week low of $2.66 than the 52-week high of $7.24 seen almost a year ago.
Neovasc
Short interest at Neovasc Inc. (NASDAQ: NVCN) totaled more than 71.96 million shares by the middle of this month, after pulling back about 1% from the prior settlement date. That was the seventh period in a row in which the number of shares sold short had dwindled. The days to cover shrank from a year-to-date high near nine to around four during the latest period to as the average daily volume doubled.
Nasdaq had begun the process of delisting this Canadian cardiovascular device maker. Short sellers watched the stock fall more than 23% (reverse-split adjusted) in those two weeks. The most recent closing share price of $2.69 compares with the split-adjusted 52-week low of $2.00. Shares are more than 95% lower year to date. The stock has traded as high as $178.00 a share (again, reverse-split adjusted) in the past year.
24/7 Wall St.And Others
Rounding out the top 10 were Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Geron Corp. (NASDAQ: GERN) and TherapeuticsMD Inc. (NASDAQ: TXMD). Comcast is the standout here, with a double-digit percentage decline in the number of its shares short. The short interest moves in the others were marginal.
Lingering outside the spotlight of the top 10 most shorted Nasdaq stocks again were MiMedx Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MDXG), Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SGYP) and Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT).
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