Short interest figures for the month of January were released after the close Monday, and below we highlight the S&P 1500 stocks that have the highest short interest as a percentage of float (SIPF). There are currently 34 stocks in the S&P 1500 with at least 25% of their float sold short. Shares of Blyth (BTH) are the most heavily shorted in the S&P 1500 with nearly two-thirds of its float sold short. After BTH, Spectrum Pharma (SPPI) is the only other stock in the index with more than half of its shares sold short (51.85%).
Of the 34 names highlighted, just seven are members of the large cap S&P 500. It is normal for higher market cap stocks to have lower levels of short interest, so the fact that there are only seven on the list should not be a surprise. The most heavily shorted S&P 500 stock is JC Penney (JCP). That stock has been at or near the top of the list for several months now. Other notable S&P 500 stocks on the list include Safeway (SWY), Gamestop (GME), First Solar (FSLR), Pitney Bowes (PBI), PPG Industries (PPG) and US Steel (X).
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