Short Report: Short interest on Coinbase falls to 10-month low

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 up 0.5%, the Russell 2000 index was up 0.8%, the Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) was up 0.2%, and the Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) was up 1.5% in the five-day trading session range.

SHORT INTEREST GAINERS

• Ortex-reported short interest in Camping World (CWH) hit a multi-year trough on July 10th but has since been nudging higher for two consecutive weeks. This week, the short position as a percentage of free float nudged another point to 19.5%, the highest level since June 26th. Days to cove on the name has also jumped from 5.5 to 6.8 this week as trading volumes in the stock receded relative to the first half of July. Camping World shares have enjoyed a much stronger second quarter of the rather volatile 2023, gaining 68% from their late-March lows. After losing nearly half of its value last year, year-to-date, the stock is also up 40%, though shares slipped about 2% in the five-day period covered through Thursday.
• Estimated short interest on Janux Therapeutics (JANX) has been dormant around 45% over the past six weeks but turned more active as of Monday when the company disclosed interim data from its Phase 1 trial of JANX007 in adults with prostate cancer and also announced a $60M capital raise. Ortex-reported short position spiked as high as 68% on Monday, a record high, before ending the week around 61%. The stock was also down about 3% with Monday’s announcements but finished the five-day period covered down just 1%.

SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS

• Estimated short interest on Coinbase (COIN) has continued its steady decline this week, slipping from 18.7% to a 10-month low of 16.6% as the stock has surged in the wake of a constructive ruling for the industry that denied the SEC’s motion that programmatic sales constitute an investment contract. Days to cover on the name was down even more sharply, sliding from 2.2 to 1.7 amid elevated trading activity in the cryptocurrency space. Shares of Coinbase are still up more than double from their June 6th lows, even though the stock has been consolidating its steep gains of last week with a 5% correction in the five-day period covered.
• Estimated short interest on CompoSecure (CMPO) briefly topped 37% late last week before turning lower this week. The short position as a percentage of free float was down five percentage points at 32.8% according to Ortex data – the lowest level since mid-May. The payment card maker disappointed investors with its Q1 results in early May, though the post-earnings decline the following session was also the stock’s lowest point since then as it gained about 11% from its May 3rd low. CompoSecure was up about 4% in the five-day period covered through Thursday and has now gained nearly 50% year-to-date.
• Ortex-reported short interest on PetMed Express (PETS) slipped from 25.2% to a multi-year low of 20% this week, even as the stock traded flat in the five-day period through Thursday. We covered the name three weeks ago as the short position was approaching a nine-month high of 27% seen on June 7th, but bears have turned more cautious again heading into the company’s July 31st earnings.