Short Report: Comstock Resources short position at record high

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 report will screen for some of biggest changes in short interest as a percentage of free float and days-to-cover ratios while also considering 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 tracks the trading period that covers prior Friday through Thursday of this week, excluding holidays. As a basis of comparison for stocks discussed below, the S&P 500 index was up 0.6%, the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.4%, the Russell 2000 index was up 2.4%, the Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) was up 1.8%, and the Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) was up 3.0% in the five-day trading session range through December 11.

SHORT INTEREST GAINERS

• Ortex-reported short interest on Comstock Resources (CRK) had tracked in a 23%-24% range from the final week of September through the first week of November. Shares went on a 55% run over the course of November prior to an abrupt reversal this month that has taken about two thirds of those gains away, but through the entire movement, bearish positioning increased for five consecutive weeks. This week, shorts as a percentage of free float jumped from 28.3% to 37.1%, a record high, even as days-to-cover slipped from 9.5 to 8.7 due to outsized trading volume in the name. The stock was down about 20% in the five-day period covered through Thursday, though year-to-date, the energy name remains higher by 19%.
• Ortex-reported short interest on Kura Sushi (KRUS) has oscillated along with the stock price for much of 2025, with a trough of about 17% in March coinciding with the bottom in shares, and the subsequent runup to 2025 highs just above 30% tracking Kura Sushi’s bounce. This week, a budding divergence has emerged as the stock fell about 4% while shorts as a percentage of free float spiked three percentage points to 29.0% toward the top of the range. Shares are looking to recover from another disappointing earnings report in early November that sent Kura Sushi to test the April lows, and the bears appear to be positioning for a test to the downside.
• Ortex-reported short interest on Groupon (GRPN) is breaking out of a three-and-a-half month long 30%-35.5% range, rising from 32.7% to 36%. That level of bearish positioning is now within two percentage points of the first week of August when the stock registered a multi-year high in the wake of a much stronger than expected earnings report. The stock, meanwhile, was down 10% in the five-day period covered through Thursday, and with another near-4% in losses on Friday is now trading within a dollar of March lows. The company’s most recent appearance at the Raymond James TMT/Consumer Conference has referred to Cyber-Monday to December period as accounting for 40% of the Groupon’s business for the year, and traders are potentially positioning for disappointment in terms of spending activity among the macro-distressed lower end consumer.

SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS

• Ortex-reported short interest on Intuitive Machines (LUNR) peaked around 28% in the final week of November as the stock hit its lowest level in seven months around $8 per share, with the subsequent two weeks of declining bearish positioning against a jump of over 50% in the stock price suggesting an effective short squeeze. This week, shorts as a percentage of free float on Intuitive Machines plunged from 26.1% to 22.8% – the lowest level since late August. Days-to-cover on the name retreated from 7.1 to 6.7 – a less dramatic margin as trading volumes from October and on remained relatively elevated. The stock was up 10.1% in the five-day period covered through Thursday and, inclusive of Friday’s 5% pullback, has now bounced 54% from November’s intra-day lows, though year-to-date, Intuitive Machines is still down 34%.