Stocks With the Most Short Interest — Nasdaq

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) saw its short interest drop 1.2% to 218.93 million shares, or about 7.6% of the stock’s float. Days to cover is five. The current proposal from Liberty Media to buy the remaining 48% of Sirius it does not already own for $3.68 a share should push the short interest down even further. The stock closed at $3.57 Tuesday night, in a 52-week range of $2.95 to $4.18.

For Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), short interest fell 3.3% to 206.48 million shares. About 4.2% of Intel’s float is now short, and the days to cover is five. Intel reported fourth-quarter results that missed EPS estimates, and the shorts continue to bail, waiting for their next opportunity to make a short play. The stock price fell nearly 7.5% during the two weeks to the end of January and is down more than 5% year-to-date. The stock closed at $24.47 on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $20.10 to $27.12.

Short interest in Frontier Communications Corp. (NYSE: FTR) rose 1.8% in the two-week period to January 31. Some 199.42 million shares are currently held short, representing 20.1% of the company’s float, and the days-to-cover number of 20. Even the company’s hugely generous dividend yield of 8.8% is not enough to curb the enthusiasm of short sellers. Shares closed Tuesday at $4.58, in a 52-week range of $3.71 to $5.02.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) has 106.55 million shares held short, down 9.9% from the number held short on January 15 and 10.1% of the company’s float. Days to cover is three for the heavily traded stock. Since reporting quarterly earnings on January 7, the stock has gained nearly 21%, and the outlook for the company remains strong. Shares closed at $24.71 on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $7.64 to $25.24.

Short interest in BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) fell 13.2% in the final two weeks of January to a total of 93.61 million shares, or 19.2% of BlackBerry’s float. Days to cover is two for this highly volatile stock. The stock price has nearly doubled from its 52-week low, which should be having the opposite effect and have the shorts piling in. Maybe next time. Shares closed at $9.80, in a 52-week range of $5.44 to $16.82.

Windstream Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: WIN) pays a massive dividend yield of 13.6%, and it takes a certain kind of gambler to give up that kind of return on a short bet. In addition, the share price is currently within range of the 52-week low. Short interest in Windstream rose 6.8% in the most recent two-week period to 91.96 million shares. That is 15.6% of the company’s float and 13 days to cover at average trading volume. Shares closed at $7.45, in a 52-week range of $7.18 to $9.90.