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 down 2.0%, the Russell 2000 index was down 1.8%, the Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF) was down 2.4%, and the Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD) was down 1.4% in the period range.

SHORT INTEREST GAINERS

• Estimated short interest in the recently listed gaming content creation platform FaZe Holdings (FAZE) has continued to rise, gaining another eight percentage points to a record-high 84.3% from 76.1%. The stock’s percentage of shorts relative to free float is also among the highest in our screen. In the five-day period covered through Thursday, FaZe Holdings was up 12% despite the overall downturn in high-growth names this week, though the stock was down over 3% in Friday’s afternoon trading.
• Short interest in Root (ROOT) briefly spiked to near 200% this week from about 11% last week, according to Ortex data. The indicated bearish position has smoothed out, but this week still represents a 27-point increase to 38% and the stock marks a new entrant to our screen. The stock is down 14.9% in the five-day period covered, with another 7% in losses thus far on Friday.
• Following its multi-month peak at 51% on August 11, Ortex-estimated short interest in Blue Apron (APRN) declined steadily to 27% by Tuesday of this week. The last two full trading sessions saw an upward inflection in bearish appetite, and short interest as percentage of free float ended Thursday at nearly 37% - up about 6 percentage points from last week. The stock has also been caught up in the volatile pendulum of “meme” names, though to a lesser degree. In the five-day period covered, Blue Apron shares are up 15%, though the stock is still down about 9% year to date.
• Ortex-reported short interest in Zymeworks (ZYME) had been steadily climbing from mid-April to mid-July, reaching 32% and later being confirmed by exchange-reported data showing shorts near 30% of free float. After three weeks of retrenchment, bears have reemerged over the past two weeks, as the short position rose four points to 29% and days to cover increased 10 basis points to 0.26. The stock was up 9.7% in the five-day period covered, though down about 5% in mid-day Friday trading.

SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS

• Estimated short interest in Bed Bath and Beyond (BBBY) has collapsed, along with its trading volume, as the spotlight of becoming a “meme stock in focus” over the past month finally dimmed late last week on the news of the dissolution of the 12% stake by RC Ventures. Ortex-reported short position as a percentage of free float fell from 51% all the way to 30%, a two-month low, while the days to cover on the name was down over 75 basis points to 1.25. Bed Bath and Beyond shares are advancing by over 4% late on Friday despite the steep market selloff as investors look ahead to the company’s strategic update scheduled for next Wednesday and cheer reports of a loan facility from Sixth Street, though the stock is still down 45% in the five-day period covered.
• The spike in Ortex-estimated short interest on RH (RH) has proved to be short lived, falling from about 39% last Thursday all the way down to 11.5% - far more in line with its recent levels. The stock is also down 5.4% in the five-day period covered, though the trading volume on the shares is not nearly as elevated as it was during the prior week’s run-up.