Short & Caught: Investors are shorting these stocks – hoping to profit as they fall
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With two weeks to go until the end of financial year, it would seem the only people thinking about stocks going down are those seeking to offset capital gains.
But in Short & Caught, Stockhead reveals which stocks traders are predicting will fall and they intend to profit from. Traders do this by “selling” stock they do not actually own in hope of buying it back at a lower price.
Considering the restrictions surrounding shorting, any substantial shorting of stocks is worth knowing about even if you own these stocks and only trade “long” – conventional buying what you don’t known and selling what you do.
Short interest is Stockhead’s preferred way to measure shorted stocks. The selling has occurred but the buying has not. While there is no way to tell why investors are betting against the stock, you can tell they are.
This fortnight, Stockhead has found 16 stocks with short interest above $10 million. The most heavily shorted small cap is retailer Myer (ASX: MYR) with $66 million in short interest.
Myer has witnessed a long decline from its 2014 high of $1.90 as shoppers shunned brick and mortar stores. But in recent months it rallied from its all time low of 37 cents and is now at 60 cents.
Short traders evidently do not think this will last in absence of a change in strategy that embraces e-shopping despite repeated warnings – most recently last week from Deloitte.
Syrah Resources (ASX: SYR) and Senex Energy (ASX: SXY) were on Stockhead’s list last week and have remained here – although Senex’s short interest has fallen by $20 million in two weeks while Syrah remained unchanged.
Another decliner was FAR (ASX: FAR) which had $95 million in short interest but now has only $20 million. One new entrant was iron ore miner Grange Resources (ASX: GRR) with $10 million.
Code | Name | Price | Market Cap | Short Interest (Shares) |
---|---|---|---|---|
MYR | MYER HOLDINGS LTD | 0.60 | $488.7M | 66122328 |
SYR | SYRAH RESOURCES LTD | 1.04 | $358.3M | 56191240 |
SXY | SENEX ENERGY LTD | 0.28 | $399.6M | 51305172 |
CLQ | CLEAN TEQ HOLDINGS LTD | 0.30 | $233.6M | 38130304 |
MRM | MMA OFFSHORE LTD | 0.17 | $150.2M | 31496100 |
AJM | ALTURA MINING LTD | 0.10 | $223.2M | 26371692 |
LNG | LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS LTD | 0.26 | $148.7M | 26003616 |
MLX | METALS X LTD | 0.24 | $165.2M | 22029740 |
FAR | FAR LTD | 0.06 | $376.8M | 20209648 |
INR | IONEER LTD | 0.16 | $236.0M | 18221492 |
SEA | SUNDANCE ENERGY AUSTRALIA LTD | 0.23 | $158.1M | 15970007 |
EWC | ENERGY WORLD CORP LTD | 0.069 | $123.9M | 15767859 |
ECX | ECLIPX GROUP LTD | 1.355 | $433.1M | 12674655 |
BWX | BWX LTD | 2.12 | $263.4M | 12344329 |
NCZ | NEW CENTURY RESOURCES LTD | 0.625 | $316.1M | 10948290 |
GRR | GRANGE RESOURCES LTD | 0.275 | $318.3M | 10249047 |
Another way to take the literal short interest figure and measure it as a percentage of free float – that is, stocks not restricted such as escrowed shares or directors shares amidst a period where trading is restricted.
This fortnight Stockhead only noticed eight small caps with a short interest figure above 5 per cent and four above 10 per cent.
The four stocks over 10 per cent were Syrah Resources (ASX: SYH) with 16.77 per cent; Kogan (ASX: KGN) with 14.89 per cent; BWX (ASX: BWX) with 12.19 per cent and Wagners (ASX: WAG) with 11.11 per cent.
Of these stocks, only Kogan is a new entry on the list. Since mid-January it is up 64 per cent from $3.10 per share to $5.11. But it has begun to fall in recent days and investors are betting this will continue.
Code | Name | Price | SI % Eqty Flt | Market Cap |
---|---|---|---|---|
SYR | SYRAH RESOURCES LTD | 1.04 | 16.8 | $358.3m |
KGN | KOGAN.COM LTD | 5.1 | 14.9 | $478.0m |
BWX | BWX LTD | 2.11 | 12.2 | $263.4m |
WGN | WAGNERS HOLDING CO LTD | 1.88 | 11.1 | $304.2m |
MYR | MYER HOLDINGS LTD | 0.6 | 9.3 | $488.7m |
CLQ | CLEAN TEQ HOLDINGS LTD | 0.3 | 8.2 | $223.9m |
CLH | COLLECTION HOUSE LTD | 1.26 | 6 | $175.5m |
MRM | MMA OFFSHORE LTD | 0.175 | 5.1 | $150.2m |