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The following is a list of 10 takeover targets with significant short interest. To develop the list, we started by creating a universe of about 80 stocks that have been labeled as takeover targets by various publications, including Barrions, Wall Street Journal, Marketwatch, TheStreet.com and StreetInsider.

We then collected data on short positions for this universe of takeover targets. The stocks mentioned here have the highest short float percentages in this universe of takeover targets. The complete universe that we used for the screen can be accessed here.

Will a short squeeze help these stocks if takeover rumors start surfacing? Or is this significant short interest an indication of a low takeover probability?

Short float data sourced from Finviz. More details below.



1. Barnes & Noble, Inc. (BKS): Specialty Retail Industry. Market cap of $868.09M. Short float at 42.77%, which implies a short ratio of 11.83 days. The stock has lost -20.98% over the last year.

2. Athenahealth, Inc. (ATHN): Business Services Industry. Market cap of $951.14M. Short float at 35.63%, which implies a short ratio of 14.38 days. The stock has lost -30.32% over the last year.

3. Intrepid Potash, Inc. (IPI): Nonmetallic Mineral Mining Industry. Market cap of 1,731B. Short float at 24.26%, which implies a short ratio of 9.47 days. The stock has lost -7.32% over the last year.

4. United States Steel Corp. (X): Metal Fabrication Industry. Market cap of 6,275B. Short float at 19.22%, which implies a short ratio of 2.06 days. The stock has gained 1.06% over the last year.

5. Regis Corp. (RGS): Personal Services Industry. Market cap of $974.59M. Short float at 15.31%, which implies a short ratio of 11.57 days. The stock has gained 2.41% over the last year.

6. Websense, Inc. (WBSN): Internet Software & Services Industry. Market cap of $850.9M. Short float at 12.68%, which implies a short ratio of 9.49 days. The stock has gained 28.38% over the last year.

7. CBOE Holdings, Inc. (CBOE): Diversified Investments Industry. Market cap of 2,131B. Short float at 12.67%, which implies a short ratio of 1.51 days.

8. Sourcefire, Inc. (FIRE): Security Software & Services Industry. Market cap of $747.04M. Short float at 12.08%, which implies a short ratio of 5.8 days. The stock has gained 39.17% over the last year.

9. SuccessFactors, Inc. (SFSF): Business Software & Services Industry. Market cap of 1,588B. Short float at 11.88%, which implies a short ratio of 11.02 days. The stock has gained 79.42% over the last year.

10. Jos. A Bank Clothiers Inc. (JOSB): Apparel Stores Industry. Market cap of 1,049B. Short float at 11.52%, which implies a short ratio of 7.43 days. The stock has gained 31.37% over the last year.


Disclosure: No positions

This is a follow-up to a previous article we wrote, discussing various screens around the ratings developed by forensic accounting firm Audit Integrity.

Audit Integrity was founded in 2002 to develop risk management tools based on a statistical analysis of corporate integrity. The Accounting and Governance Risk (AGR) rating is a forensic measure of the transparency and reliability of a corporation’s financial reporting and governance practices. The focus of AGR analysis is on identifying the measures most highly associated with fraud, and quantifying those risks for interested stakeholders in relation to company.

All the companies in this list have high AGR scores, i.e. more conservative accounting practices than most other firms. In addition, all of these companies are in an uptrend, i.e. trading above their 20-day, 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Full details below.



1. Edison International (EIX): Electric Utilities Industry. Market cap of $11.06B. The stock's AGR score is Conservative (92), meaning that its accounting practices are more risky than 8% of companies. Audit Integrity is most concerned with the trends in the company's Cost of Goods Sold/Revenue ratio. The stock is currently 0.64% above its 20-day SMA, 2.36% above its 50-day SMA and 2.05% above its 200-day SMA.

2. Salesforce.com (CRM): Application Software Industry. Market cap of $14.58B. The stock's AGR score is Conservative (91), meaning that its accounting practices are more risky than 9% of companies. Audit Integrity is most concerned with the company's classification of "other" expenses. The stock is currently 12.19% above its 20-day SMA, 17.99% above its 50-day SMA and 42.5% above its 200-day SMA.

3. Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (PNW): Electric Utilities Industry. Market cap of $4.34B. The stock's AGR score is Conservative (87), meaning that its accounting practices are more risky than 13% of companies. Audit Integrity is most concerned with the company's Asset Turnover ratios. The stock is currently 1.72% above its 20-day SMA, 5.45% above its 50-day SMA and 10.84% above its 200-day SMA.

4. Progress Energy Inc. (PGN): Electric Utilities Industry. Market cap of $12.54B. The stock's AGR score is Conservative (86), meaning that its accounting practices are more risky than 14% of companies. Audit Integrity is most concerned with trends in the company's Goodwill/Total Assets ratio. The stock is currently 0.64% above its 20-day SMA, 4.58% above its 50-day SMA and 10.32% above its 200-day SMA.

5. Northeast Utilities (NU): Diversified Utilities Industry. Market cap of $5.07B. The stock's AGR score is Average (83), meaning that its accounting practices are more risky than 17% of companies. Audit Integrity is most concerned with the company's Pension Liability Discount Rate assumptions. The stock is currently 0.27% above its 20-day SMA, 4.73% above its 50-day SMA and 10.25% above its 200-day SMA.

6. The Chubb Corporation (CB): Property & Casualty Insurance Industry. Market cap of $16.86B. The stock's AGR score is Average (80), meaning that its accounting practices are more risky than 20% of companies. Audit Integrity is most concerned with the company's Deferred Income Tax Assets /Operating Expense ratio. The stock is currently 0.59% above its 20-day SMA, 2.43% above its 50-day SMA and 6.3% above its 200-day SMA.


Disclosure: No positions

Day's Top Gainers
Analyze This List: News, Annual Performance vs. Analyst Ratings, Charts

Simon Property Group Inc. (SO): 1.51%
Tellabs Inc. (TLAB): 1.43%
Lennar Corp. (LEN): 1.42%
Ameren Corporation (AEE): 1.37%
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): 1.28%

Day's Biggest Losers
Analyze This List: News, Annual Performance vs. Analyst Ratings, Charts

Medtronic, Inc. (MDT): -10.8%
Stryker Corp. (SYK): -6.37%
Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNDK): -6.04%
Office Depot, Inc. (ODP): -5.3%
AK Steel Holding Corporation (AKS): -5.07%

Unusually High Volume (Ratio Indicates Today's Volume Relative To 3-Month Avg)
Analyze This List: News, Annual Performance vs. Analyst Ratings, Charts

Medtronic, Inc. (MDT): 5.58
NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE): 3.15
Vulcan Materials Company (VMC): 2.94
Salesforce.com (CRM): 2.62
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG): 2.5

Top Performers Over The Last Month
Analyze This List: News, Annual Performance vs. Analyst Ratings, Charts

McAfee, Inc. (MFE): 46.45%
priceline.com Incorporated (PCLN): 26.02%
Citrix Systems, Inc. (CTXS): 21.98%
Salesforce.com (CRM): 13.21%
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF): 11.93%

Worst Performers Over The Last Month
Analyze This List: News, Annual Performance vs. Analyst Ratings, Charts

DeVry, Inc. (DV): -32.42%
Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW): -31.9%
Jabil Circuit Inc. (JBL): -31.21%
Eastman Kodak Co. (EK): -28.66%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD): -25.77%

Most Oversold Stocks (Based On The RSI(14) Indicator)
Analyze This List: News, Annual Performance vs. Analyst Ratings, Charts

DeVry, Inc. (DV): 20.21
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG): 20.86
FLIR Systems, Inc. (FLIR): 21.28
BB & T Corp. (BBT): 22.59
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD): 23.07

Most Overbought Stocks (Based On The RSI(14) Indicator)
Analyze This List: News, Annual Performance vs. Analyst Ratings, Charts

McAfee, Inc. (MFE): 84.65
Salesforce.com (CRM): 70.63
Altria Group Inc. (MO): 70.12
CMS Energy Corp. (CMS): 69.33
PG & E Corp. (PCG): 66.46

Disclosure: No positions