Short Report: Bearish position in Birkenstock hits new 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 2.0%, the Nasdaq Composite was down 3.9%, the Russell 2000 index was down 4.9%, the Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) was down 5.3%, and the Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) was down 4.6% in the four-day trading session range through Thursday, January 4.

SHORT INTEREST GAINERS

• Bears remain active in the recently IPO’s Birkenstock (BIRK), with estimated short interest on the stock rising from 30.0% to 33.4% in the four-day period through Thursday. Shorts as a percentage of free float is now at its largest level on record in the stock’s brief three-month history, eclipsing 33.1% Ortex-estimated high seen on November 17th. The stock is heeding the rising bearish appetite, turning lower following a brief break-out above the $50 level on December 27 with five consecutive down sessions and losing 6.7% this week.
• Ortex-reported short interest on MicroStrategy (MSTR) was at its lowest level for the year on December 26th at 20.2%, though the short position has been creeping higher since then, notching six consecutive days of incremental increases to 21.4% – the biggest short expression in five weeks. Bears had unquestionably experienced some strain as shares have more than doubled into the year-end from mid-October, bolstered by the overall revival of the crypto-verse, though short-sellers are beginning to wonder whether the tailwinds rally are stalling, as MicroStrategy slipped 1.8% in the four-day period covered.
• Estimated short interest in Lemonade (LMND) spiked from 23% above 25% in the final week of November but then largely plateaued in the 25%-26.5% range for much of December. This week however, shorts as a percentage of free float were up over a percentage point to 26.8%, reaching the highest level since the peak of the first week of November at 28%. The stock was also down 2.1% in the four-day period covered, though shares are 2% higher in early trading on Friday.
• Ortex-reported short interest on Blink Technology (BLNK) rose above 32% – a level it had reached but not surpassed on three prior occasions in 2023 – for the first time since March 2022 this week, increasing 1.5 percentage points to 33.3% in the four-day period covered through Thursday. The stock has been in search of a bottom following a steep decline for much of 2023, with a sharp rally coming in the wake of a better than expected earnings announcement in early November, though this week’s 23% decline and a failure to test mid-November highs highlights continued investor skepticism.

SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS

• Estimated short interest on Guess (GES) reached its 2023 highs around 37% in the first week of December as bears added to positions in the wake of a 13% plunge about two weeks earlier when the company reported a Q3 earnings miss and guidance cut. A rebound over the final two weeks of the year saw Guess shares close that gap down however, while shorts as a percentage of free float receded to low 20%s, continuing that trend this week with a four percentage point slide to 21.2%. Shares of Guess were down just 3% in the four-day period covered through Thursday.