Short Report: ChargePoint, Luminar short positions at highest levels in weeks

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 3.3%, the Nasdaq Composite was down 4.5%, the Russell 2000 index was down 2.7%, the Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) was down 3.3%, and the Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) was down 2.2% in the five-day trading session range through Thursday, October 26.

SHORT INTEREST GAINERS

• Ortex-reported short interest on ChargePoint (CHPT) had slipped to a five-month low below 20% early this week as shares made fresh 2023 lows, though with the pressure in the EV space unrelenting, bears are turning more comfortable with bets on further downside. Shorts as a percentage of free float for ChargePoint was up over three percentage points, rising to 23.1% as of Thursday, having registered a multi-month high of 24.4%, while the stock was down 20% in the five-day period covered. ChargePoint shares are also down 74% from early June highs.
• Estimated short interest in Luminar (LAZR) had been tracking in a narrow 21%-23% range since mid-September, though this week, shorts as a percentage of free float saw an outsized increase from 21.5% to 25.1% – the highest level since September 11th. Days to cover on the stock also gained steadily for the second consecutive week, rising from 18.7 to 20.3 – the highest level on record. Luminar shares have continued their four month long skid, dropping another 4.4% in the five-day period covered and have now lost 58% from mid-July highs.
• We profiled the name two week ago when shorts as a percentage of free float on Ebix (EBIX) jumped to its highest level since January of 2021 above 31%, and that short position has continued to bounce to multi-month high. This week, bears’ reported stake has gone up to 37.7%, up another six percentage points, while days to cover on the name rose from 4.6 to 5.9 – a three-week high. Ebix shares meanwhile remained on a downward trajectory, losing 7.8% in the five-day period covered. The stock is now down 83% from July highs.
• Ortex-reported short interest on BioXcel Therapeutics (BTAI) fell to a 5-month low of 17.6% late last week but then spiked all the way to 31.1% by Thursday – the highest level in about six weeks. The company’s stock price had fallen about 90% from its May highs, though shares gained about 20% after BioXcel disclosed positive findings from independent third-party audit of the data from a single site in its TRANQUILITY II Phase 3 trial for BXCL501 for the acute treatment of agitation associated with dementia in probable Alzheimer’s disease. For the week, BioXcel was up 15.8% in the five-day period covered.

SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS

• Estimated short interest in Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) was down sharply this week, falling from 27.8% to 17.6% – the lowest level of the year. Concurrently, the stock was down 22% in the five-day period covered, though much of the losses were registered during last Friday’s session in the wake of the company’s downgrade at Mizuho to Neutral that was driven by a more conservative stance on Zoryve adoption in spite of the enthusiastic physician feedback in the firm’s survey. The company had also priced a 40M share secondary at $2.50 last Friday – well below the prior close of $3.03 per share. Arcutis shares are now down 84% year-to-date.
• Ortex-reported short interest on Mirati Therapeutics (MRTX) hit our radar this week as it slid from 21.2% all the way to 11.3%, though this is being driven by the bears’ continued closing of positions following the company’s acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) some three weeks ago. The $4.8B deal has already been approved by both boards of directors and is anticipated to close by the first half of 2024. The stock traded flat this week.