These are the biggest shorts on Wall Street today, including new stock GameStop
The meme stock rally may have lost steam , but some familiar names from the frenzy are once again among the most shorted stocks in the market. GameStop reemerged as a short interest favorite as of the middle of the month. Short interest in GameStop jumped 6% to more than 68 million shares as of May 15, which accounts for over 25% of its float. The move came as “Roaring Kitty,” the retail investor who ignited the short squeeze of 2021, posted online for the first time in around three years — sending shares soaring. For the month, GameStop is up more than 92%. Short selling is a high-risk strategy used by hedge funds, and occasionally retail investors, to speculate off a fall in share price. Investors borrow shares and sell them, with the intention of repurchasing later at a lower price. Traders then return the borrowed shares and make a profit from the difference on the short sale. A short squeeze occurs when a stock price surges, forcing investors shorting the stock to purchase shares, or cover their shorts, to buy back stock and cut their losses. With this in mind, CNBC Pro used FactSet data to find companies trading on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq that are at risk of a short squeeze. The following stocks all have a short interest as a percent of float at 25% or more, with a market cap of at least $1 billion. Here are the names below, and where analysts see them headed next: Warehouse automation company Symbotic’s short interest as a percent of float was around 30%. Symbotic shares have declined nearly 20% year to date, with shares falling more than 9% in the current quarter. The stock sold off following its fiscal first quarter earnings announcement, when the company’s forward guidance came just in-line with estimates — which disappointed investors. However, the stock has climbed 6.7% month to date. Analysts are still bullish on the stock, with the majority of those covering Symbiotic rating it a buy or strong buy and forecasting 37.2% upside, according to FactSet. Electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid also made the list the list, with roughly 29% of its floating shares sold short. Shares of the electric vehicle maker have climbed more than 8% in May, however, and rose an additional 1.2% on Wednesday. LCID YTD mountain Lucid shares year to date Analysts have a muted stance on Lucid, with nearly 70% of those covering the stock giving it a hold rating. Just 6% of analysts have buy or overweight rating on shares, FactSet data shows. Merchandise retailer Kohl’s is another potential short squeeze target. The stock has its short interest as percent of float at nearly 34%. The company is set to report its fiscal first-quarter earnings on Thursday. Traders were disappointed in the company’s most recent quarterly earnings announcement in mid-March. Revenue came in lower than analysts’ estimates in the fiscal fourth quarter, and the forward earnings guidance range also suggested below-consensus full-year earnings, according to StreetAccount. Although the stock is down 7% quarter to date, shares have surged 13.1% over the past month. Correction: Short interest in GameStop jumped 6% to more than 68 million shares as of May 15. A previous version misstated the number of shares sold short.
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