Short Report: Core Scientific short interest 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 down 3.0%, the Nasdaq Composite was down 3.4%, the Russell 2000 index was down 3.3%, the Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) was down 3.3%, and the Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) was down 3.2% in the five-day trading session range through November 20.

SHORT INTEREST GAINERS

• Ortex-reported short interest on Core Scientific (CORZ) has tracked higher with greater conviction since the first week of October, when share price was still in an uptrend. The last week, however, has seen an especially pronounced surge among shorts as the wall of worry in the crypto/AI space has grown dramatically. Shorts as a percentage of free float in the name rose from 23.5% to 31.7% – a record high. With bitcoin prices down sharply and AI-related capex theme shaken, Core Scientific has now lost 38% from its peak on November 3. The stock was flat in the five-day period covered but remains up 5% year-to-date.
• Ortex-reported short interest in Avis Budget (CAR) hit a record high of 60.3% in the first week of October as the unrelenting 4-times rally in the stock price from mid-March to late July finally cooled with a softer set of Q2 results. Bears booked profits through the month of October and short interest was scaled down below 50%, though a turn in the broader market sentiment this month has re-emboldened short-selling targeting some of the more stretched out gainers. In the five-day period covered this week, shorts as a percentage of free float rose from 53.2% to 60 .1% – the cusp of record highs – while days-to-cover on the name rose from 9.0 to 9.9. Avis Budget stock was down by about 8% through Thursday, though year-to-date, it is still up by an impressive 63%.
• Prior to this week, Ortex-reported short interest on Surgery Partners (SGRY) oscillated in a 15%-21% range since the final week of July, and the stock followed a similar sideways price action since April. In the wake of a disappointing set of Q3 results along with a downward revision in guidance on November 10, compounded by multiple price target cuts on the Street, short positioning as a percentage of free float reflects a notable uptick in bearish interest, rising from 19.8% to 24.3% this week. In a 5-day period through Thursday, the stock was flat, though shares are now down by 38% since reporting results and even after Friday’s 3.5% rebound, the stock remains down 25% year-to-date.
• Ortex-reported short interest in the premium EV automaker Lucid Group (LCID) is higher for the second consecutive week, with bears becoming increasingly more daring amid the progressively more pronounced decline in the stock price. This week, shorts as a percentage of free float rose from 29.3% to 32.9% – within a percentage point of record highs seen in early July. Shares, meanwhile, were down by about 23% in the five-day period covered, as selling accelerated following the company’s hefty $875M convertible note offering on November 11th, and have now lost about two-thirds of their value since mid-July. While the stock gained 5% on Friday, year-to-date, Lucid shares are still down 59%, with shares caught in the downdraft of questionable EV demand, softer consumer sentiment, and melting market share.

SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS

• Ortex-reported short interest in Celcuity (CELC) has remained elevated in spite of the stock’s 40% spike on October 20 following the company’s constructive Phase 3 study update on Gedatolisib. With shares up another roughly 25% since that initial surge, bears are turning more reluctant. This week, shorts as a percentage of free float caved from 31.8% all the way down to 19.7% – the lowest level since late August. The stock, meanwhile, was up 9% in the five-day period through Thursday, up another 4% on Friday, and has now rallied 8-fold year-to-date.