October turned out to be a very volatile month, with the stock markets seeing a correction and some sectors and many individual stocks slipping into bearish territory. Investors had plenty to worry about, including rising interest rates, weakness in international markets, growing effects of the trade war with China and a mixed bag from corporate earnings, as well as the midterm elections and the upcoming holiday season.
Judging by the most shorted stocks traded on the Nasdaq between the October 15 and October 31 settlement dates, those sellers were looking for direction as short interest moves were mixed. Helios and Matheson Analytics saw another notable upswing in the numbers of its shares sold short, while Qualcomm led among the decliners during those two weeks.
Note that just three Nasdaq stocks had more than 100 million shares short as of the most recent settlement date.
Sirius XM
The almost 193.42 million Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) shares held short after the latter two weeks of last month were more than 3% greater than on the previous settlement date, or 15.1% of the available float. The previous reading was the lowest level of short interest in at least a year. The average daily volume pulled back marginally from in the prior period, and the days to cover slipped a bit from about seven.
The earnings report posted during the short interest period suggests Sirius is well positioned for growth. The stock ended the final two weeks of last month trading almost 3% lower, and it has fallen off even more sharply since then. The Nasdaq slipped by less than 2% between the settlement dates. Sirius stock closed at $6.21 on Friday, after retreating more than 10% 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 end of October, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) had almost 114.91 million shares short. That was more than 6 million less than the total on the previous settlement date, as well as the lowest level of short interest in the past year. That reading still represented 12.3% of the company’s float. And though the average daily volume retreated, the number of days it would take to cover all short positions remained about one.
Investors were not pleased with the mixed quarterly results posted during the period. Short sellers watched the share price pull back more than 31% in those two weeks, though it had been up more than 6% earlier. The stock closed trading most recently at $221.03 a share, which is less than 7% higher than three months ago, but down from September’s 52-week high of $34.14. Shares have changed hands at as low as $9.04 apiece in the past year.
Caesars Entertainment
The short interest in Caesars Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: CZR) pulled back for the second consecutive period, after rising for 16 straight periods. The number of shares short shrank by more than 4 million most recently. The more than 101.84 million shares posted for the month’s end settlement date represented 18.4% of the total float, and it was the fifth consecutive period with more than 100 million shares short. The days-to-cover figure fell from about seven to more than four as the average daily volume nearly doubled.
Caesars seemed well positioned to rebound after the volatility in October. Its share price ended the latter two weeks of the month more than 4% lower, despite being up almost 19% at one point. The stock ended Friday’s session at $8.51 per share, which is down more than 12% over the past 90 days. Its 52-week trading range is $7.95 to $14.50, and that low was seen at the end of last month.
Qualcomm
More than 91.82 million Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) shares were sold short as of the most recent settlement date. That represented 6.3% of the chipmaker’s float and was a retreat of about 15% from in the prior period, but still much more than the fewer than 30 million shares seen back in August. As of the end of the month, it would take nearly six days for investors to cover all their short positions at the posted average daily volume.
Qualcomm recently claimed that Apple owes the company $7 billion. The October 31 closing share price was around 2% lower than on the previous settlement date. It has retreated more than 11% in the past week, and the stock was last seen trading at $56.72 a share, down from the 52-week high of $76.50. The 52-week low is $48.56 per share. And the share price is more than 12% lower than it was 90 days ago.
Helios and Matheson Analytics
Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc.’s (NASDAQ: HMNY) short interest grew by more than 9% from in the previous period to more than 83.72 million on the most recent settlement date. That was by far the greatest number of shares short in the past year, and it represented 6.2% of the total float. Note that short interest was less than a million shares as recently as July. The daily average trading volume plunged in the latest period, but the days to cover figure remained less than one.
The company’s MoviePass arm continues to struggle with what many see as an unworkable business model. The stock was more than 4% lower as of the latest settlement date, though it was up more than 44% at one point in the period. The stock was last seen trading at less than two cents per share, essentially at its 52-week low. That is after the company effected a 10-for-one reverse stock split back in July.
Starbucks
More than 81.01 million Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) shares were sold short as of the most recent settlement date. That represented 6.2% of the coffee chain’s float, and it was more than 7% less than in the prior period, which was a year-to-date high level of short interest. As of the settlement date, it would take more than six days for investors to cover all their short positions, after the average daily volume slipped marginally.
Starbucks shares surged after a blowout earnings report, but that was after the end of the short interest period. The October 31 closing share price was less than 3% higher than on the previous settlement date, though it had been up about 5% earlier in the two weeks. The stock closed most recently at $68.60 a share, which is more than 32% higher than 90 days ago. Shares have traded hands at between $47.37 and $68.98 apiece in the past 52 weeks.
And Others
Rounding out the top 10 were TherapeuticsMD Inc. (NASDAQ: TXMD), Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Opko Health Inc. (NASDAQ: OPK) and MiMedx Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MDXG). The number of Opko shares short was relatively flat during the period, while the others saw gains in their short interest, led by Comcast.
Lingering outside the spotlight of the top 10 most shorted Nasdaq stocks were Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT), Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) and Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX). Note that Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) and Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SGYP) retreated further from the top 10 with sizable reductions in the levels of their short interest.
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