Riot Blockchain short position hits two-month high amid more pronounced crypto downdraft 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 version will screen for some of biggest changes in short interest as a percentage of free float and days-to-cover ratios. This report will also continue to layer 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 will continue to track the trading period that covers prior Friday through Thursday of this week.
As a basis of comparison, the S&P 500 index was down 2.6%, the Russell 2000 index was down 5.4%, the Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF) was down 2.6%, and the Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD) was down 3.1% in the period range.
SHORT INTEREST GAINERS
- Estimated short interest in Riot Blockchain (RIOT) was up four percentage points to 17% - the highest level since September 23 - just as the stock traded down 10.9% in the five-day period covered. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have come under strain this week and the carnage continued on Friday, as Riot shares fell an additional 13%.
- Estimated short interest in AMC Networks (AMCX) tracked higher in the past five trading sessions as the stock erased its early November post-earnings gap higher and moved to 52-week lows this week. The short position as a percentage of free float was up nearly three percentage points to 22.2%, which marks the highest level in six months. In the five-day period covered, shares of AMC Networks were down 10.1%.
- Estimated short interest in Carlyle Group (CG) has spiked to its highest level of the year, rising 16 percentage points to 54.2%, with days-to-cover ratio also rising 37% to 2.3. The inflection in the short position has tracked the peak in the share price, which has given back about half of the gains made in October and the first half of November. In the five-day period covered, shares of Carlyle Group were down 3.5%.
- Mr. Cooper Gorup (COOP) is a newcomer to the Ortex screen this week as the estimated short position in the stock has jumped from 8% all the way to 54% in the absence of any meaningful news or a pickup in traded volume. The day-to-cover on the stock was also up 5-fold to 1.55, while the stock fell 3.5% in the five-day period covered. Shares had risen nearly 40% in the second half of the year, but the stock has now fallen for five consecutive weeks.
- InnovAge Holding (INNV) also makes its maiden appearance in our high-short-float universe, with estimated shorts as a percentage of free float jumping 25% to 89.4%. The short position has been steadily rising since mid-November and has now hit its highest level of the year, while the stock has rebounded from two weeks of losses to trade up an overall 5.5% in the five-day period covered.
SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS
- For the second time in a month, the estimated short interest in Tattooed Chef (TTCF) inflected lower along with the stock price, falling four percentage points to 34.9%. In both instances, the short position peaked around 39%. Tattooed Chef shares are down 8% in the five-day period covered, though the stock is breaking below the sub-$16 support with another 4.5% decline today.
- Estimated short interest on Altice USA (ATUS) was down 11 percentage points to 24.7% as the downdraft in the stock appears to have finally subsided. Shares are up 2.5% in the five-day period covered and gaining today as well, with weekly volume also hitting its highest level in over two months.
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AMCX CG COOP INNV RIOT TTCF ATUS Keywords: Short selling, short interest, days to cover, securities, lending, utilization, GameStop, AMC, Altice, Riot Blockchain, sentiment analysis