Short Interest Changes in NASDAQ Cult Stocks & Controversial Stocks (DNDN, DMND, FSLR, GMCR, GRPN, HGSI, NFLX, RIMM, SIRI)

The short interest data is out using the June 15 settlement date and we have compared this to the May 31 settlement date and prior periods for a comparison.  With choppy markets in June after a horrible May, the short interest changes are rather interesting in the active cult and widely held controversial stocks.

24/7 Wall St. screened out selective short interest data with the latest changes from the settlement date of April 30, 2012 versus the prior April 13, 2012 in shares of the following: Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN); Diamond Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND); First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR); Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR); Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN); Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI); Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX); Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM); and Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI).

Is a “Sell in May and Go Away” turning into a “Short-Sell in May and go away!” theme?  We have added in some selective color added if applicable:

Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) saw a small gain in the short interest with 34.255 million shares short as of June 15 versus 33.1 million shares in the short interest as of the end of May.  The days to cover is actually much lower now that Dendreon volume has been up (3.6 compared to 6.08).

Diamond Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) saw a small drop to 9.95 million shares short as of mid-June (vs. 10.4 million at the end of May) and that is the smallest short interest going all the way back to last December.  Maybe this has played out now as the easy short-sale money has been made.

Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is still very new and the stock was barely recovering when the June 15 short interest settlement date had come about.  The short interest rose to 45.2 million shares at June 15 versus 34 million shares short at the end of May.

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) saw an upwardly moving short interest to over 24.6 million shares as of the mid-June date and that compares to a 21.6 million shares short reading at the end of May.  What is perhaps more interesting than anything is that this was a big jump in nominal shares that appears to be the highest short interest on a nominal share count over what we have seen in months and months.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) saw another small drop in the short interest to 23.25 million shares short in mid-June versus 23.56 million shares at the end of May.  This remains far lower in short selling activity from last year’s more active short selling peak.

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) saw another gain after a double-digit gain in percentages the period before.  The new short interest rose to 24.37 million shares in mid-June versus 23.5 million shares as of the end of May.  Each of these were record highs nominally in the short interest.

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) saw a small drop in mid-June to 18.19 million shares short and that is under an already very low short interest of 19.71 million shares at the end of May.

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) sam another uptick in short selling with 14.128 million shares short in mid-June versus 13.246 million shares short at the end of May.  This is the highest reading in at least a year and it now represents 3.66 days to cover.

Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) is on deathwatch and the short sellers are attacking hard.  The mid-June short interest was 73.4 million shares versus 66.78 million shares as of May 31. RIM’s short interest is higher than it has been in a year or more and this is 4.4 days to cover.  Earnings are this week and that makes for a very negative bias!

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) saw a slight drop to 298.26 million shares short as of June 15 but the days to cover ratio doubled to 10.5 days now that trading volumes are down so much.

JON C. OGG