Short Report: Bears sniff out softer demand for flowers

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 0.2%, the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.6%, the Russell 2000 index was flat, the Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) was flat, and the Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) was flat in the five-day trading session range through February 6.

SHORT INTEREST GAINERS

• Estimated short interest on 1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS) has been on a steady upswing since early October, when bearish position as a percentage of free float took off from a two-week long plateau around 15%. Short positioning had approached 30% by the start of the final week of January, but the past two weeks have seen an acceleration in the buildup. This week, shorts as a percentage of free float for the company jumped from 31.5% to an all-time high above 35%. The stock traded flat on the week, having briskly pared the post-Q2 decline of 21% on soft earnings and a guide-down for FY25 revenue expectations. Bears are betting however that the “softer than anticipated and highly promotional consumer environment” spotlighted by the management with its Q2 results lingers and possibly becomes exacerbated by the rising costs of trade protectionism given the high percentage of fresh-cut flowers imported into the U.S. Year-to-date, shares of 1-800-Flowers.com are still down just 1.5%.
• Ortex-reported short interest on Telesat (TSAT) increased massively early last week to over three times the size of its free float, and this week, the bearish pile-on has persisted against the grain of the rising stock price. Shorts as a percentage of free float rose from 300% to over 380%, while days-to-cover on the stock jumped from 5.7 to 7.2. Shares of Telesat meanwhile have now gained ground for three consecutive weeks. In the five-day period through Thursday, Telesat was up 3.4%, and the stock is now up 22% year-to-date.
• Ortex-reported short positioning on Luminar (LAZR) had consolidated the gains made in the first half of January over the month’s second half, but the first week of February is seeing bears re-emerge from their slumbers. Shorts as a percentage of free float on the name rose from 29% to 31.7% – topping the all-time highs seen last December – while days-to-cover on the stock rose from 4.7 to 5.4 amid compressed trading volume. Shares of Luminar were up a modest 1.5%, though the stock has now lost 40% from the multi-month highs reached on January 7th.
• Ortex-reported short interest on Children’s Place (PLCE) had slipped to a three-week low of 23.5% early this week, though four consecutive sessions of increases have taken the bearish positioning up two percentage points to 25.5%, matching a one-month high. Volatility in the stock has also increased. After falling to five-month lows on Monday, shares of Children’s Place jumped as much as 31% over the next two sessions before Friday’s 12% sell-off. In the five-day period covered, the stock was up 15%, though year-to-date, it is down 4%.

SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS

• As featured in the prior edition of the Short Report, Ortex-estimated short interest on Oklo (OKLO) had risen sharply from 17% all the way up to 27% by the end of last week despite the strong uptrend in the stock price that is also being supported by rising volume. This week however, the bears may be showing signs of second-guessing their thesis. Shorts as a percentage of free float has come in from 27.1% to 23.6% and days-to-cover slipped from 1.4 to 1.1 as high trading volume activity has persisted. The stock, meanwhile, has continued its march higher – in the five-day period covered through Thursday, Oklo has risen 14%, and year-to-date – including Friday’s massive 16% gain – shares of the nuclear solution story for AI-driven energy demand are up a whopping 161%.