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. As a basis of comparison for stocks discussed below, the S&P 500 index was up 0.2%, the Russell 2000 index was down 0.3%, the Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF) was up 0.5%, and the Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD) was flat in the period range.

SHORT INTEREST GAINERS

• Estimated short interest on Codex DNA (DNAY) was up four percentage points this week to 21.8% while the days-to-cover ratio on the name rose a full point to 4.9. The stock has limped into the end of the quarter over the past several sessions, losing nearly 40% of its value since reporting Q4 results on March 22 with four consecutive days of losses before recovering some ground, though the shorts are betting that the selling will resume. In the five-day period covered by this report, Codex DNA is up 1.3%.
• Specialty Retail – along with Home Improvement – was among the worst performing industries in the Consumer Cyclicals sector this week, and Conn’s (CONN) was one of its worst performers. The estimated short interest on the furniture/appliance retailer jumped by six percentage points to 37.3%, the highest level in nearly two years, while the stock fell to a one-year low below $15 after disappointing earnings report. The management has cited supply chain issues and omicron headwinds, though as we have also seen with RH (RH), investors are questioning consumer appetite for high-ticket in-home items vs. other post-pandemic interests such as Travel – an industry that had a much better trading week. In the five-day period covered by this report, Conn’s was down 23.5%.
• Estimated short interest in Dillards (DDS) was up in all five trading days this week, rising four percentage points overall to 44.2% - a six-week high. Based on the trading volume, days-to-cover on the stock was also up 50 basis points to 5.3 – the highest level in over 20 months. The gradual build in bearishness has not been accompanied by a spike in volume or volatility, with Dillards shares ending the five-day period down 2.5%.

SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS

• Bearish bets on IGM Biosciences (IGMS) have been building since the start of the year, with Ortex-estimated short interest as a percentage of free float peaking around 56% as recently as two weeks ago. The company’s R&D collaboration deal with Sanofi (SNY) announced earlier this week has been a game changer however, sending shorts to the exits in droves as short interest was cut by 19 percentage points to 34.7% - the lowest level in nearly a year. Likewise, the days-to-cover ratio on the stock was slashed from 5.2 to 1.4 – the lowest level in over two years. In the five-day period covered by this report, IGM Biosciences was up 67%, though the stock saw some profit-taking of on Friday to the tune of 14% and remains down by over 80% since its late-2020 high.
• Meme stocks have been back en vogue over the past couple of weeks, with spikes in volume and price action for both GameStop (GME) and AMC Entertainment (AMC). As we discussed last week, GameStop received a boost from a $10M injection by its Chairman Ryan Cohen’s RC Ventures, but while the estimated short interest increased on the news, the jury is still out on the positive developments around a potential stock-split floated by the company in an 8-K filing after market close on Thursday. GameStop shares still ended the five-day trading period up 16.6%, though the short position as a percentage of free float slid two points from its six-week high to 22.2%.
• Estimated short position in FuboTV (FUBO) has tracked in a 17%-23% range over the past two months and the trading activity has been largely uneventful, but this week, the stock was on our radar as short percentage of free float was down in all five trading days to fall from 22% to 17%. The positioning looks suspicious since trading volume was also up sharply on Tuesday in the absence of any meaningful news. The stock was down about 10% in the five-day period covered, underperforming its Streaming/Broadcasting peers.