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 Ortex.com, which utilizes the latest information from stock lenders to estimate short interest changes for thousands of publicly traded companies, this column will screen for some of biggest changes in short interest as a percentage of free float and days-to-cover ratios.
This report will also continue to layer 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 will continue to track the trading period that covers prior Friday through Thursday of this week.
As a basis of comparison, the S&P 500 index was down 0.2%, the Russell 2000 index was down 2.4%, the Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF) was down 2.4%, and the Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD) was up 1.1% in the period range.
WASHINGTON FEDERAL SHORT INTEREST SPIKES OVER 80%
Washington Federal (WAFD) entered our radar this week as estimated short position briefly spiked from about 20% at the end of last week to as high as 87% this Wednesday when the company also paid out a 23c dividend. Trading volume in the stock was at a one-month high to start the week, but otherwise the stock traded in a narrow range. The Ortex-estimated short position was back down to 33% as of Thursday-close. Shares of Washington Federal were up 2.0% in the five-day trading period covered.
IROBOT SHORT INTEREST AT HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE MARCH
Estimated short interest on iRobot (IRBT) accelerated at the start of the week and hit its highest level since March 10 by Thursday, rising about five percentage points above 22%. Days-to-cover ratio on the stock was up 26% to 7.7 - up for the second consecutive week and at the highest level since late January. Shares of iRobot were down 11.1% in the five-day trading period covered, with the biggest decline coming after the company reported a large Q1 earnings beat but backed its FY21 guidance.
MICROVISION SHORT INTEREST BUILDING SHARPLY AGAIN
Following a brief period of respite last week, estimated short positioning in Microvision (MVIS) is once again on the rise, increasing by another three percentage points to 24.7 – the highest level going back to the start of Ortex-tracked data in 2019. Days-to-cover ratio was also up over 5% at 1.55. Shares of Microvision were down 22% in the five-day trading period covered, which includes the steep decline after the company reported an earnings miss last Thursday.
MACY’S, DANAOS ESTIMATED SHORT INTEREST DOWN SHARPLY
Estimated short positioning in Macy’s (M) and Danaos (DAC) highlight this week’s decliners, with the stock of the former trading up 3.3% and the latter up 17.3% in the five-day trading period covered. Macy’s net short interest was near its highest level of the year on April 28 around 16% and then declined in four out of five trading sessions to just over 11%. Days-to-cover ratio on Macy’s was also down 27% to 1.13. Danaos net short positioning was down 13 percentage points to 27%, extending its “leveling out” pattern after a late-April spike above 175%.
PRECIGEN, BARNWELL INDUSTRIES ENTER THE FRAY
Precigen (PGEN) and Barnwell Industries (BRN) are some of the smaller-profile names that popped up on the Ortex-driven screen as high-short-interest stocks with more pronounced gains this week. Estimated short positioning on Precigen was up every day in the period with an overall increase of three percentage points to 32.5% and a days-to-cover ratio jump of 20% to 12.09. Bearish positioning of nano-cap Barnwell Industries spiked up from virtually zero to over 65% as volume and volatility in the name picked up sharply this week. Shares of Precigen were down 19.2% while Barnwell Industries traded up 44.7% in the five-day trading period covered.
Washington Federal
-0.15 (-0.45%)
iRobot
-1.86 (-1.89%)
MicroVision
+0.14 (+1.00%)
Macy's
+0.285 (+1.65%)
Danaos
+1.43 (+2.26%)
Precigen
-0.08 (-1.21%)
Barnwell Industries
-0.12 (-4.00%)
iShares Russell 1000 Growth
+1.39 (+0.55%)
iShares Russell 1000 Value
+1.19 (+0.74%)