Short Report: Bearish bets on Fisker hit record after Q2 results

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 down 0.7%, the Russell 2000 index was down 2.0%, the Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) was down 2.8%, and the Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) was down 1.3% in the five-day trading session range.

SHORT INTEREST GAINERS

• Ortex-reported short-interest on Fisker (FSR) jumped from 42% to 46%, the highest level on record. While the company reported its first quarter with automotive sales revenue last Friday along with smaller than expected earnings loss, the stock was down sharply on the results. Two analysts also cut their price targets on the stock this week, with both reflecting on the company’s challenges in ramping production. In the five-day period covered through Thursday, Fisker shares were down about 10%.
• Ortex-reported short interest in C3.ai (AI) fell to its lowest level in about five weeks last week at 31.0% as shares traded up to six-week highs. With the stock pulling back toward the lower end of its two-month long trading range, short positioning is gathering steam again as the company prepares to release its quarterly earnings, rising to a one-month high of 36.4%. Days to cover on the name was also higher at 1.5 vs. 1.2 last week. In the five-day period covered through Thursday, C3.ai was down 18.6%.
• Estimated short interest on Desktop Metal (DM) has risen for the past two weeks, with the bulk of the increase made this week from 27.7% to 31.0% – the highest level on record. Shorts are building position after the company’s worse than expected Q2 results last Thursday, sending the stock to its lowest close since March. In the five-day period covered, Desktop Metal shares were down 8.8%.
• Estimated short interest on Enliven Therapeutics (ELVN) was up four percentage points this week, reaching a three-week high of 44.5%, while the stock fell 2.4% to close at its lowest level of the year. The company also reported its Q2 results late on Thursday that saw its net loss double from last year, even though the management has maintained that it is targeting reporting its initial proof of concept data for ELVN-001 and ELVN-002 programs in 2024, with the drug expected to show its potential to help patients with CML and HER2-driven cancers.

SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS

• Estimated short interest on Virgin Galactic (SPCE) is receding, with shorts as a percentage of free float falling from 24.4% to 17.7% – the lowest level on record. The decline in short positioning is accelerating after the company’s quarterly results, which saw a wider than expected earnings loss drive a stock price decline, even though Virgin Galactic is delivering on its mission statement, flying its first private tourists to the edge of space this week. The stock was down 15% in the five-day period covered, closing at its lowest level since late April.
• Ortex-reported short interest on Marathon Digital (MARA) has tracked around 25% for about a month, but with the stock having retraced 25% from its July 14th high, bearish positioning level are also coming down. Shorts as a percentage of free float on the name was down to 21.7% this week, within a decimal point of 2023 lows, with much of the decline coming in the wake of the company’s Q2 earnings miss. In the five-day period covered through Thursday, Marathon Digital shares traded down about 12%.