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 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, excluding holidays. As a basis of comparison for stocks discussed below, the S&P 500 index was up 0.7%, the Nasdaq Composite was flat%, the Russell 2000 index was up 2.0%, the Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) was up 1.2%, and the Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) was up 2.7% in the five-day trading session range through April 25.
SHORT INTEREST GAINERS
- Ortex-reported short positioning in Kohl’s (KSS) had receded from 31.2% to 25.6% in the first half of April as bears took profits amid the stock’s 25% two-week plunge, though with shares gaining as much as 20% from last week’s low to this week’s high, short positioning as a percentage of free float has been ratcheted up all the way to 34% – eclipsing the prior 2024 high of 31% by a considerable margin. Bears were also keen to increase exposure to Kohl’s department store peer Nordstrom (JWN), where an 11% rally from mid-April lows prompted a two-point boost in shorts as a percentage of free float to 20.9% – the highest level since early February. In the five-day period through Thursday, Kohl’s shares were up 6%, while those of Nordstrom were up a more modest 1.4%.
- Ortex-reported short interest in Scholar Rock (SRRK) had tracked in a 22%-28% range since making the jump above 20% in mid-February, though this week saw the bears with a particularly pronounced appetite for the biopharma name, with shorts as a percentage of free float rising from 24.2% to a multi-year high of 35.2%. When last reporting results in mid-March, the company had indicated that it remain on track to initiate a Phase 2 proof-of-concept trial with apitegromab in combination with a GLP-1 receptor agonist in mid-2024 as it continues to progress its novel preclinical myostatin inhibitor for obesity SRK-439 toward Investigational New Drug status. Shares of Scholar Rock were flat in the five-day period covered but jumped 4% amid broader market bounce on Friday.
- Estimated short interest in Guess (GES), also profiled last time, remains on our radar this week, with a second consecutive period of significant gains. Shorts as a percentage of free float on the apparel designer was up from 21% to nearly 29% this week, matching the six-week high positioning seen on March 25th. The stock fell by a steep 9% margin last week but traded flat in the five-day period covered this week. Guess shares are down 22% from its April 1st peak, but up 12% year-to-date.
SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS
- Estimated short-interest in Bowlero (BOWL) â one of the most heavily shorted names in our screen â is continuing its descend from early February highs just above 101%. This week, shorts as a percentage of free float slipped five percentage points to 64.8% – the lowest level in about six months. Ortex figures are staying in-step with the lagging exchange-reported data, where shorts as a percentage of free float has now slipped in four consecutive semi-monthly periods. Bears are also paring their exposure in conjunction with the downtrend in Bowlero share prices â the stock was down about 4% this week but has now caved 18.5% year-to-date and about 29% from February’s 2024 highs.
