Stocks with the Highest Short Interest

Below we highlight stocks in the S&P 1500 with the highest short interest as a percentage of float.  Investors like to look at these names to 1) find companies that investors are extremely negative on, and 2) find companies that could see big spikes on any hint of positive news due to short covering. 

As shown, JOS A Bank (JOSB) is the most heavily shorted stock in the index, with 91.5% of its float sold short.  JOSB is followed by CORS, NTRI, LTM, HZO and NILE. 

Sears Holdings (SHLD) is another name on the list of heavily shorted stocks, and even after a negative earnings report yesterday, it was trading higher, most likely due to short covering. 

There are some names on the list that have seen big gains this year.  These stocks have rallied in the face of bearish investor sentiment, and include TRLG, BWLD, BIG, WERN, ZLC, SYNA and ARO.

click to enlarge

The list below highlights stocks that have seen the biggest increase in short interest over the last month.  For whatever reason, investors have taken a more bearish stance on these names.  (Note that some of these names could have an accelerated buyback going on.  This increases short interest because for the buyback to take place immediately, the bank involved in the buyback sells (shorts) the stock to the firm and then covers it over time.)  Notable names on the list include KFT, PCX, SNDK, GD, LLL and LMT.

Comments

[Richard Col...:]

This is the type of information we need more of and I would also like to see stocks with the highest long interest in the last 30 days.
Daniel Kowkabany

2008 Aug 29 11:13 AM

[300mph:]

I second the previous comment.

2008 Aug 29 11:20 AM

[oldgoldbug:]

Shorted stocks supposedly are borrowed from longs via the longs' brokers and sold. (I say supposedly because naked shorting has become quite the fashion but I will let more sophisticated traders tell us how that works.) The short speculator or arbitrager has cash and owes the long the stock. Should the stock go down, the short purchases it on the open market and returns the stock to the long. The difference is the profit. Should the stock go up, the short must repurchase at a loss and replace. Thus the % of the stock float sold short shows you how much potential pent-up buying exists in a given security. If the shorts are wrong about a stock, their buying tacked on to normal buying can result in excessive movements to the upside.
Thus the float is the long interest plus the short covering potential.

2008 Aug 29 02:44 PM

[oldgoldbug:]

Sorry last sentence should be:
The long interest is the float. High short % presumably increases buying interest above normal trading volumes.

2008 Aug 29 02:47 PM

[dbart:]

STILL CONFUSED! CAN YOU JUST SAY IT IN SIMPLE TERMS..

THANKS

2008 Aug 29 04:49 PM

[22thoroughbred:]

I have been doing this for 35 years and have never hear the term "long interest" what are you talking about?

2008 Aug 30 12:24 PM

[dolla bill:]

I have a question. Does anyone know if there is a higher interest rate on the loan for a short sale if the price of a stock goes higher than the amount of money invested? Thanks.

2008 Aug 30 10:24 PM

[dolla bill:]

I have a question. Does anyone know if there is a higher interest rate on the loan for a short sale if the price of the stock goes higher than the price that you sold it at? Thanks

2008 Aug 30 10:27 PM

[dolla bill:]

sorry for the double post

2008 Aug 30 10:28 PM

[paljp:]

BWLD is the only HOT think going in the restuarant business, they got downgraded so that someone can get in cheap, hold on til the shorts get squezed in October!

2008 Sep 13 08:59 PM