The NYSE and Nasdaq publish their short interest figures twice a month, and each time the data is released, Bespoke Premium also publishes an in-depth report highlighting historical short interest trends for the entire market all the way down to individual stocks. To view a sample of the report, please click here.
Below we provide a list of the most and least heavily shorted stocks in the Russell 1,000 as of the end of July. This is based on each stock's short interest as a percentage of its overall equity float. Based on the most up-to-date numbers, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) has the highest short interest as a percentage of float at 43.74%. AIG ranks second at 34.99%, although this number is likely to decrease in the next release after the massive short squeeze that has taken place in the stock this month.
The average 2009 change for the most heavily shorted stocks (>20% of float) is 26.23%, which is about twice the gain for the overall market. In up markets, investors look to buy heavily shorted stocks because they get an additional boost from the shorts getting squeezed. Since the March 9th low, this has definitely been the case. If you still believe in the rally, the names below should continue to do well.
Interestingly, the average year to date change of the 25 least heavily shorted stocks in the Russell 1,000 is 22.2%, which is also better than the overall market. Key names that almost no one is short include AT&T (T), Exxon Mobil (XOM), and United Technologies (UTX).
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