Short Report: Bears build positions in retail, EV charging

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 3.6%, the Nasdaq Composite was down 5.1%, the Russell 2000 index was down 4.9%, the Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) was down 5.4%, and the Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) was down 4.1% in the five-day trading session range through April 18.

SHORT INTEREST GAINERS

• Ortex-reported short interest in Children’s Place (PLCE) was steady in a 24%-26% range for over a month since mid-March, but has now ticked up higher for the second consecutive week. Last week’s increase from 24.5% to 28.6% was followed by this week’s rise to 34.5% and marks the highest level for short positioning since March 8. The stock had ticked higher on strong volume on Wednesday when the company announced that it has entered into a new financing agreement for $90M, with the shares ending the five-day period through Thursday up 6.1%.
• Shares of Guess (GES) had leaped over 20% the day after stronger than expected earnings on March 20th and then were boosted to multi-year highs on April 1st when the company announced a new $200M buyback. The overall 29% gain had spooked short-sellers in the week following that peak, and shorts as a percentage of free float receded from 28% all the way down to 18% last week. With the stock giving up all of the gains over the course of April however, bearish appetite has resurfaced, with estimated short interest up from 17.9% to 21.0% this week, while the stock fell 9% in the five-day period covered.
• Ortex-reported short interest on Savers Village (SVV) peaked on March 7 at 43% concurrently with the stock hitting a six-month high above $21 just ahead of the company’s Q4 earnings miss and underwhelming FY24 guidance. As shares came down by nearly 20% over the next two weeks, shorts also reduced exposure to as low as 33%. After a late-March upturn, selling momentum has resumed in Savers Village shares over the past two weeks, but in contrast to March, shorts are building up exposure into the downturn. This week, short interest as a percentage of free float on the name rose from 39.1% to 41.7% – within two points of the two-month highs seen in March – while the stock traded down by about 2% and registered a three-month low.
• After two months of easing, estimated short interest among EV charging names returned to a building mode, while the selling pressure on the stocks has unrelenting amid broader market weakness. Estimated short interest in Blink Charging (BLNK) was up from a 3-year low of 21% to a one-month high of 24%. Likewise, shorts as a percentage of free float in EVgo (EVGO) – which had receded to a four-week low of 24% on April 3 were up for the second straight week, rising from 26.8% to 28.2%. In the five-day period covered, shares of Blink Charging were down 10% while those of EVgo were off by 15%.

SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS

• After last week’s three percentage point uptick, Ortex-reported short interest in Revolve Group (RVLV) slipped from 24.7% to 22.4%, which is within a point of the stock’s 2024 low level. Short positioning had built up to as high as 29% leading up to the company’s Q4 results in late February, but a much better quarter, above-consensus initial outlook for FY24, and multiple sell-side price target increases spooked the bears who bet on more measured performance by the retailer. This week, shares of Revolve Group were down by 2.7%, though the declines weren’t nearly as pronounced as some of the other internet retail names.