Tiffany Shorts Decrease: Indicative of a General Decline in Consumer Discretionary Shorts?

The consumer discretionary sector has seen a decrease in its short base (as measured by Percent Shares Outstanding on Loan) by 22% over the last three months. Utilization (the measure of supply and demand in the securities lending market) of Tiffany and Co (TIF) the specialty retailer is down 23% over those months to 41%.

This Utilization is still considered high, but is well off its 52 week high of 53% back in March. Short base in TIF is also down from its high, currently at 10.64%. The share price in TIF is up over 34% over this three month period. Other specialty retail stores have seen similar decreases in short base over the past month: including Staples (SPLS) down 19% to 4.13%, Ultra Salon Cosmetics (ULTA) down 25% to 1.36% and Big 5 Sporting Goods (BGFV) down 37% to 2.04%. Download the full report by clicking here.