Estimated short position in Upstart pared after guidance cut drove large stock decline; Blue Apron shorts higher as bears question Citron bull thesis Welcome to this week’s installment of “The Short Interest Report" - The Fly's weekly recap of short interest trends among some of the most widely followed high-short-float stocks. Using the data from our partner https://public.ortex.com/, which utilizes the latest information from stock lenders to estimate short interest changes for thousands of publicly traded companies, this report will screen for some of biggest changes in short interest as a percentage of free float and days-to-cover ratios while also considering the short interest data on some of the more volatile and heavier-traded names of the week. Based on the availability of data from Ortex, the report tracks the trading period that covers prior Friday through Thursday of this week. As a basis of comparison for stocks discussed below, the S&P 500 index was down 5.2%, the Russell 2000 index was down 7.1%, the Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF) was down 7.3%, and the Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD) was down 3.8% in the period range.
SHORT INTEREST GAINERS
- Blue Apron (APRN), one of the newcomers to our screen this week, showed an outsized increase in bearish positioning as the estimated short interest on the name was up in all five trading sessions, rising ten percentage points to 40.5% as of Thursday – a three-month high. The stock was at 52-week lows heading into its earnings but received a vote of confidence from Citron Research calling for a rebound to $10 thanks in part to the company’s partnerships with Planet Fitness and Walmart. In the five-day period ended Thursday, Blue Apron was down 6.3%.
- Estimated short position in Cazoo (CZOO), also a newcomer, has spiked from 5.4% all the way to 71.4% - the highest level on record. Days to cover on the stock has also increased by 40 basis points to 2.77 – a three-week high. The stock had lost about a half of its value on rising volume heading into its Q1 earnings last Tuesday, though the past week has seen a more sideways price action. In the five-day period ended Thursday, Cazoo is up 18%.
- Heading into its Q1 earnings, Petco Health and Wellness (WOOF) saw its estimated short interest rise from 13.8% to 25.3% over the past five sessions - a three-month high - with days-to-cover on the name little changed at just over 10. The stock has been a far more gradual decliner within a “sea of red” in Specialty Retail over the past month, though its losses have not been nearly as profound in that time-frame as those of its peers Chewy (CHWY) and FreshPet (FRPT). In the five-day period ended Thursday, Petco shares were down 10.1%.
- Carvana (CVNA) has been pacing the decline in midcap Internet Retail this year, with the stock having lost about 80% of its value from 2022 highs. The estimated short position as a percentage of free float has also picked up this week, jumping from 19% to a three-month high of 31%, and trading volumes jumped as staff cuts announced by the company magnified the percolating liquidity concerns. Despite the late-week bounce, in the five-day period ended Thursday, Carvana shares were still down 23.5%.
- FuboTV’s (FUBO) attempt to marry the CTV advertising/streaming revolution with an upswing of legalized sports wagering has crashed into a “wall of worry” as investors tracking the disappointing performance from respective industry leaders Roku (ROKU), Netflix (NFLX), and Draftkings (DKNG) turned much more cautious on this derivative (and unprofitable) name. The estimated short interest in FUBO was up in four of the past five sessions this week, rising another five percentage points following last Thursday’s disappointing results to a three-week high of 22.5%. In the five-day period covered, FutoTV shares were down 24.8% and the stock is now off by more than 90% from its November high.
SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS
- Credit AI lending platform Upstart (UPST) had a week to forget as the company’s FY22 guidance cut and below-consensus outlook for Q2 on Monday drove a stock price decline of over 55%. Some of the short-term bearish positioning was justifiably squared on Tuesday, as estimated net shorts as a percentage of free float in the name fell by four percentage points to 29.2%. In the five-day period covered, Upstart shares were down 63%, with the stock also vastly underperforming within the Credit Services universe.
- Estimated short interest in Dillards (DDS) was down four percentage points this week to 41.2%, while days-to-cover on the stock slid by 20bps to 5.18. The company owns the distinction of the best-performing name among Department Stores, with a 27% year-to-date gain compared to double-digit declines at Macy’s (M) and single-digit gains at Nordstrom (JWN). In the five-day period covered, Dillards is down by just 1.4% as the stock rose by over 3% following its better than expected earnings on Thursday.
Symbols:
APRN CZOO WOOF CHWY FRPT CVNA FUBO ROKU - $97.96 /
+10.47 (+11.97%)
NFLX - $187.73 /
+13.54 (+7.77%)
DKNG UPST - $38.10 /
+5.355 (+16.36%)
Keywords: Short selling, short interest, days to cover, securities, lending, utilization, sentiment analysis, AMC, GameStop, Cazoo, Blue Apron, Petco, Carvana, FuboTV, Upstart, Dillards