Media
Short Sellers Increase Bets & Clean House in SIRIUS XM (SIRI)
Published:
Last Updated:
SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) has been a very heavily attacked stock by short sellers despite a very low share price. The short selling peaked in May before some of the short selling activity lightened up. It turns out that the short selling is back on the rise.
If you look through the table below, what you will notice is that the short selling has risen two periods in a row.
What is more important is that SIRIUS XM’s short interest is actually the second highest it has been…
| Settlement Date | Short Interest | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|
| 07/29/2011 | 295,983,703 | 7.80 |
| 07/15/2011 | 274,572,534 | 1.29 |
| 06/30/2011 | 271,062,675 | (7.35) |
| 06/15/2011 | 292,554,953 | (7.74) |
| 05/31/2011 | 317,089,214 | 9.36 |
| 05/13/2011 | 289,943,915 | 4.14 |
| 04/29/2011 | 278,421,342 | 3.02 |
| 04/15/2011 | 270,264,848 | 1.81 |
| 03/31/2011 | 265,453,444 | 3.94 |
| 03/15/2011 | 255,399,482 | 3.14 |
What is so interesting is that if you just take the dates used and interpolate prices, the short sellers have profited handsomely. At the July 29 settlement date, SIRIUS XM shares were at $2.11 and shares had been even higher in the trading sessions before that in between the prior settlement date used by NASDAQ in its short interest tally. SIRIUS XM shares were under $2.70 on both Monday and Tuesday and shares are close to $1.77 today. That means that SIRIUS XM short sellers had gains of 20% if they covered near the trough of the markets… assuming they don’t think that SIRIUS XM will sell off even more.
As far as the ugliness in the market, the fresh chart from StockCharts.com here pretty much explains it all. The first problem is that shares had already violated the 50-day moving average (currently $2.08). The larger and perhaps more extreme problem is that SIRIUS XM has now taken out its prized 200-day moving average (currently $1.80).
Price matters…
JON C. OGG
Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With A Financial Advisor (Sponsored)
Take the quiz below to get matched with a financial advisor today.
Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.
Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future
Take the retirement quiz right here.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Editors' Picks
