Short Report: Bears move on as Silvergate Capital liquidates

Short interest in Vivid Seats and Bed Bath Beyond hits record high; Bearish bets on Silvergate scaled back amid liquidation

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 1.6%, the Russell 2000 index was down 4.0%, the Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF) was down 0.7%, and the Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD) was down 2.7% in the five-day trading session range.

SHORT INTEREST GAINERS

• Estimated short interest in Vivid Seats (SEAT) looked to have peaked at 32.5% in early January when the stock price reached the top end of its 7-month-long range and had retraced for much of February as shares headed south, but a better than expected Q4 revenue print that sparked an 18% rally in Vivid Seats also brought the bears back into the name. Ortex-reported short interest spiked from 29.8% to 35.2% – a record high for the stock, even though days-to-cover on the name slipped from 11.3 to 10.2. In the five-day period covered, Vivid Seats was down 5.7% through Thursday.
• Ortex-reported short interest in Bed Bath and Beyond (BBBY) has been rising more steeply for about a month, though the changes were even more stark this week, with estimated short position as a percentage of free float up from 67.2% to 75.8% – a record high. While the company disclosed on Wednesday that it has received another $135M in funds from the $1B capital raise announced last month, the stock remained on its downward trajectory, losing 21% in the five-day period covered.
• Estimated short interest in Fate Therapeutics (FATE) tracked in a narrow 20.0%-21.5% band for about a month but broke out this week from 20.6% to 23.2% in the five-day period covered through Thursday, while the stock stumbled by just over 12%. While there hasn’t been much news for the company, the biotech space has been hit particularly hard this week, with SPDR Biotech ETF (XBI) down nearly 10% and investors closely monitoring the sector for its exposure to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB).
• Estimated short interest in Big Lots (BIG) tracked sideways for much of February just under 31% before rising from 31.0% to 34.5% this week – the highest level in five months. The company reported a much smaller than expected Q4 earnings loss last Thursday and the stock was up as much as 16% intraday but could not hold on to those gains, renewing short-sellers appetite for the name. Big Lots shares also ended the week as one of the worst performers in the Discount Store group, falling 3.2% overall in the five-day period covered through Thursday and another 2% on Friday.

SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS

• Silvergate Capital (SI) became one of the more heavily shorted financials given its exposure to the fallout of the bankrupted cryptocurrency exchange FTX, but with this week’s resolution by the company to wind down operations and liquidate its assets, the bears are also moving on. Estimated short interest in Silvergate was down from 77% to 73.5%, its days-to-cover fell 75 basis points to 1.7, while the stock ended the five-day period covered off by 50%.
• Estimated short interest in Fisker (FSR) had risen to an all-time high of about 40% in late February as the company posted its Q4 results that saw shares spike 30%, but bearish positioning has since receded just as the stock has given up its gains in concert with the pronounced downward turn in the EV automaker space. Ortex-reported short interest as a percentage of free float was down five percentage points to 35.0% from 40.2% – a two-month low – while its days-to-cover slipped from 15.6 to 13.9. In the five-day period covered this week, shares of Fisker slipped by 11.5%.

Keywords: Short selling, short interest, days to cover, securities, lending, utilization, sentiment analysis, Vivid Seats, Bed Bath Beyond, Fate Therapeutics, Big Lots, Silvergate Capital