The 6 Most Shorted Nasdaq Stocks: Short Sellers Shy Away From Apple

By Trey Thoelcke Updated Jan 13, 5:19PM EST · Published Nov 11, 7:03AM EST

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The 6 Most Shorted Nasdaq Stocks: Short Sellers Shy Away From Apple — © Wikimedia Commons (bfishadow)

Between the October 15 and October 30 settlement dates, short interest declined in many of the most heavily shorted stocks traded on the Nasdaq. Short sellers retreated from Apple especially, though not in sufficient numbers to allow it to drop out of the top six.

Those stocks at the top of the list, Frontier Communications and Sirius XM, bucked the trend, but just barely.

Note that the five most shorted Nasdaq stocks all had more than 100,000 shares short by the end of the month.

After gaining around 2% in the previous period, the short interest in Frontier Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: FTR) added another 1% to come in at more than 172.57 million shares by October 30. That was 14.9% of the telecom’s float. The days to cover rose to more than 13 as the average daily volume continued to dwindle. Frontier is a Merrill Lynch pick with a generous yield, but shares ended the short interest period nearly 3% lower. That compared to a more than 3% gain for the Nasdaq. The share price is down about 29% year to date. The stock closed Tuesday at $4.74, within a 52-week trading range of $4.19 to $8.46.

The 155.76 million Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) shares short at the end of the month was essentially the same as in mid-October. That was 7.6% of the company’s float, as well as the second highest level of short interest year to date. At the current average daily volume, it would take more than four days to cover all short positions. Merrill Lynch liked Sirius after earnings. The share price ended the two-week period less than 3% higher, and it has climbed a bit more since. Shares ended Tuesday at $4.14, just a few cents shy of the recent 52-week high. The 52-week low of $3.27 was from last December.

ALSO READ: The 6 Most Shorted NYSE Stocks

MannKind Corp.’s (NASDAQ: MNKD) short interest, at around 120.02 million shares as of October 30, was down 3.2% from the prior settlement date. Note that though it was the fewest shares short since July, it still was approximately 46% of the total float. The days to cover dropped from about 29 to more than 19 as the average daily volume rose. Analysts continue to sour on MannKind. Short sellers watched the share price soar nearly 25% but give up most of that gain in late October. It is now down about 56% year to date at $2.30. Shares have changed hands between $2.20 and $7.88 in the past year.
By the end of the month, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) had more than 119.77 million shares short, which was down from 129.74 million on the prior settlement date. The most recent reading totaled 18.9% of the company’s float. The days to cover remained more than 13, even though the average daily volume slipped a bit. AMD offered a convoluted earnings report as the short interest period began. Yet the share price finished the two weeks up more than 9%, though at one point it was up more than 13%. The stock closed most recently at $2.02, and the 52-week range is $1.61 to $3.37.

More than 108.21 million Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) shares were sold short as of the most recent settlement date. That was 6.9% fewer than at the start of the period, and it totaled 2.3% of the company’s float. It would take three days to cover all short positions. Intel saw big insider selling in October, and it ended the two-week period a little more than 3% higher. Since then, that gain has been erased, and shares closed most recently at $33.21. The stock has traded between $24.87 and $37.90 per share in the past year.

The number of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares short tumbled 17.2% in the period, as investors closely watched sales of the latest iPhone. The more than 74.67 million shares short at month’s end represent 1.3% of the float. That was the lowest short interest since before the most recent iPhone launch. The average daily volume rose somewhat in the period, and it would take less than two days to cover all short positions. Analysts seemed confused by the most recent earnings report. The share price increased about 7% during the two weeks, though it has pulled back more than 5% in the past week. The stock price was $116.77 per share on Tuesday’s close. It has traded in the past year between $92.00 and $134.54.

ALSO READ: Short Interest in Apple Plunges in October

Rounding out the top 10 were BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY), Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT), Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ: MYL) and Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN). The movers here were Mylan, with an nearly 7% rise in short interest lifting it into the top 10, and Groupon with about an 11% drop in its number of shares short. Short sellers also retreated handily from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) in the latter weeks of October, allowing it to slip out of the top 10.

About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.