Short Report: Shift4 Payments short interest hits record highs

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 0.3%, the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.8%, the Russell 2000 index was down 1.5%, the Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) was down 2.8%, and the Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) was down 0.1% in the five-day trading session range through November 13.

SHORT INTEREST GAINERS

• Ortex-reported short interest on Shift4 Payments (FOUR) had slipped to a three-month low of 20.3% heading into last Thursday’s Q3 earnings as bears booked profits in the wake of a near-40% slide from July highs. The company’s results were uninspired however, with the vast majority of the Street recalibrating their price targets lows while supporting renewed appetite among shortsellers. Shorts as a position of free float on the name jumped to multi-year high of 24.5% and days-to-cover rose from 5.9 to 6.4 despite the pickup in trading volume around earnings. The stock was up 9% in a five-day period covered, though year-to-date, Shift4 has now fallen by 33%.
• Ortex-reported short interest on Dave & Busters (PLAY) troughed at a three-month low around 29% late last week, coinciding with 2025 lows in the stock price. With consumer cyclical names remaining under pressure this week however and the stock finding some footing with a near-20% bounce in the five-day period covered through Thursday, bears are betting on more pain for the beleaguered gaming/entertainment chain as shorts as a percentage of free float increased from 29.3% to 37.4% – a one-month high. Friday’s 5% decline was more indicative of this week’s rally being a short-term bounce rather than the start of a cyclical bottom, even with a year-to-date loss of over 50% for Dave & Busters shares.
• Ortex-reported short interest on CleanSpark (CLSK) troughed at 15-month lows in the first week of October as the stock was halfway through its six-week $9 to $23 rally. As euphoria in the bitcoin-mining-turned-data-center-support arena turned more cautious however and the stock reversed about 85% of its spike since its 2025-highs on October 15, bears have also become more emboldened. This week, shorts as a percentage of free float on the stock rose from 21.3% to 24.7%, roughly a four-month high, while the stock was down 22% in the five-day period covered through Thursday, with another 8.5% in losses coming on Friday.
• Ortex-reported short interest on Kura Sushi (KRUS) had tracked in a 25%-26% range from mid-August and heading into its Q4 results late last week even as the stock lost about 40% of its value from September highs. And while Kura Sushi outperformed estimates for the quarter, the company’s guidance was below consensus, as the management opted for a more conservative outlook to reflect the recent “volatile consumer environment and tariff pressures” negatively impacted its sales and restaurant-level margins. The stock fell % the day after earnings last Friday and overall declined by 13% for the week through Thursday, with another 5% in losses incurred on Friday. The short interest as a percentage of free float, meanwhile, rose by three percentage points to 27%, a three-month high, even as days-to-cover was down from 5.8 to 5.3 amid relatively heavier trading volume around earnings.

SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS

• Ortex-reported short interest on Aeva Technologies (AEVA) hit record highs above 40% on October 20, though bears have since trimmed their exposure for three consecutive weeks, and this week, the scaling down has been especially pronounced. In the five-day period covered, shorts as a percentage of free float in Aeva was down from 36.7% to 27.0% – the lowest level in three months. Bears are squaring up despite the renewed selling in shares overall, with the stock down 17% this week through Thursday and down another 6.5% Friday to the lowest levels in six months. Despite the drawdown, Aeva Technologies – which has traded as high as 8-times relative to its 2025-opening levels in July – is still up more than double year-to-date.