Short Report: GameStop, AMC Entertainment bears retreat further

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 0.6%, the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.2%, the Russell 2000 index was down 2.3%, the Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) was down 1.6%, and the Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) was down 2.8% in the five-day trading session range through May 23.

SHORT INTEREST GAINERS

• Ortex-reported short interest in Enliven Therapeutics (ELVN) had slipped from 34% to about 20% – 2024 lows – in early April just ahead of the company announcing proof of concept data from Phase 1 trial of ELVN-001 in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. The announcement had prompted a 20% spike in the stock price, though with the gap-up in shares closing over the balance of April and then meeting resistance at the post-gap highs this month, bears are gaining in strength again. Short positioning as a percentage of free float was up five percentage points this week to 26.3%, while shares slipped 3.5% in the five-day period covered.
• Estimated short interest in NuScale Power (SMR) had fallen to 2024 lows of about 16% late last week as shares rose to two-month highs, though bearish positioning was back up to 21% as of this Thursday – the highest level in about a month. A bearish note from Iceberg Research alleging that Nuscale Power has deceived investors about the certification of its reactor and claiming the company has no credible orders has driven the repositioning, with shares down about 5% in the five-day period covered, while days-to-cover on the name approached 2024 lows of 4.5 on trading volume pick-up in the name over the past two weeks.
• Ortex-reported short interest in Funko (FNKO) was up four percentage points this week, rising from 23.1% to 27.1% – the highest level in about four years. The stock was down 2.6% in the five-day period covered this week, though shares have now gained just over 20% since the company reported a smaller than expected Q1 loss two weeks ago, guided better than expected Q2, and named a new CEO. Funko shares are also up 6.5% year-to-date and up 53.5% from its mid-April lows, though the growing short positioning suggests the bears see the rebound as overextended.

SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS

• Extreme volatility observed in GameStop (GME) and other meme names last week saw no continuation this week, though bears continued to pare their bets, with shorts as a percentage of free float slipping from 23.6% to 20.0% – the lowest level in about eight months. GameStop shares were also down about 33% in the five-day period covered, completing the return to levels seen before the start of last week’s run-up. Likewise, short positioning in AMC Entertainment (AMC) was down from 14.9% to 12.4% – a three-month low – though the stock was up a marginal 2% this week and remains up 56% relative to the close on May 10.
• Estimated short interest in Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB) was down from about 28% to just under 25% this week, but while the stock came in 4.5% in the five-day period covered, it is still up 22% from April 16th trough. Shorts are reducing their exposure and taking profits on concerns that the rebound in Red Robin shares from mid-April lows has momentum. The company has also earned two bullish votes from Craig Hallum and Lake Street over the past month, with analysts expressing confidence in the burger chain’s margin and balance sheet turnaround under the new management team.