Nasdaq Stocks With the Most Short Interest

August 12, 2014 by Paul Ausick

Sirius LogoHere’s a look at the five Nasdaq-traded stocks with the largest number of shares held short as of July 31. Short interest in three of the five stocks declined, and although they’ve changed ranking amongst themselves since the last report on short interest, they remain the most heavily shorted stocks on the Nasdaq.

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) saw its short interest decline 0.1% to 297.35 million shares, about 12.3% of the stock’s float. Days to cover is now six. After some choppy trading in in the two-week period prior to July 31, the stock price has since remained unchanged. Shares closed 0.4% lower at $3.425 Monday night, in a 52-week range of $2.98 to $4.18.

Short interest in Frontier Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: FTR) rose 1.9% in the two-week period to July 31. Some 176.39 million shares are currently held short, representing 17.7% of the company’s float and a days to cover number of nine. The company’s famously generous dividend yield has slipped to 7% from over 8% in late February. Shares closed Monday night at $6.485, in a 52-week range of $4.09 to $7.24. The share price increased 14% in the two-week short-interest period after peer Windstream’s received approval to spin off some assets into a REIT. The company also received federal approval to acquire AT&T’s operations n Connecticut.

For Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), short interest fell 16.2% to 135.37 million shares. About 2.7% of Intel’s float is now short and days to cover is three. The stock’s price rose nearly 7% during the two-week period and is up 28% year-to-date. The company said on Monday that it expects its newest low-power, high-performance chip to be available in devices in time for the holiday season. The stock closed at $33.02 Monday, in a 52-week range of $21.89 to $34.83.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) has 125.25 million shares held short, up 2.9% from the number held short on July 15, and 11.8% of the company’s float. Days to cover is five for the heavily traded stock. Shares fell more than 10% in the two-week period, but are up nearly 42% year-to-date. Shares closed at $30.74 on Monday, in a 52-week range of $13.05 to $34.85.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) experienced a decline of 0.2% in short interest during the two-week period to July 31. Some 1.7% of the company’s shares are held short and days to cover is two. The stock’s price is up about 0.3% in the two-week period and more than 21% year-to-date. Shares closed at $95.99 Monday night in a split-adjusted 52-week range of $63.89 to $99.44.

ALSO READ: NYSE Stocks With Most Short Interest

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