logo
Short Report: Bears sell into sharp rally in Hims & Hers

Short Report: Bears sell into sharp rally in Hims & Hers

Welcome to this week's installment of 'The Short Interest Report' – The Fly's weekly recap of short interest trends among some of the most widely followed high-short-float stocks. Using the data from our partner Ortex.com, which utilizes the latest information from stock lenders to estimate short interest changes for thousands of publicly traded companies, this report will screen for some of biggest changes in short interest as a percentage of free float and days-to-cover ratios while also considering the short interest data on some of the more volatile and heavier-traded names of the week. Based on the availability of data from Ortex, the report tracks the trading period that covers prior Friday through Thursday of this week, excluding holidays. As a basis of comparison for stocks discussed below, the S&P 500 index was up 1.1%, the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.2%, the Russell 2000 index was up 2.6%, the Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) was up 2.8%, and the Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) was up 2.4% in the five-day trading session range through May 8.
Protect Your Portfolio Against Market Uncertainty
SHORT INTEREST GAINERS
Ortex reported short interest in Hims & Hers (HIMS) is up for the fourth consecutive week, rising from 34.3% to 36.3%, with intra-week high above 37% marking a record high. Days to cover on the name was up slightly from 1.5 to 1.6. Bears are loading up on the stock despite its strong performance over the past few weeks. Shares have more than doubled from the lows in the first week of April as well as year-to-date. In the five day period covered, Hims & Hers was up 42%, with much of those gains coming after the company reported a strong top-line beat with its Q1 results and affirmed its guidance.
Ortex-reported short interest in AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) slipped to a four-month low of about 22% late last week but increased notably from 22.4% to 27.7% this week, tracking a sharp stock price rally last Friday. The company had announced that it will be holding a quarterly business update this coming Monday, driving a 14% gain in shares. Days to cover also gained from 6.8 to 7.1, a three-month high. For the five-day period covered through Thursday, AST SpaceMobile ended up 10%, and year-to-date, the stock is up 22%.
Ortex-reported short interest in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (MDGL) tracked sideways in a 34%-35% range over the past four weeks, though with the stock finding some support over the past two trading sessions following four consecutive sessions of losses, bears are boosting their exposure. Shorts as a percentage of free float on Madrigal jumped from 34.8% to a four-month high of 38.9%, though days-to-cover was little changed with a 30bps decline to 6.7. Following the company's earnings last week, the stock initially jumped 5% on Thursday but closed lower on the day. This week, Madrigal shares were 8.5% in the five-day period through Thursday.
SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS
Ortex-reported short interest in Savers Value Village (SVV) hit a one-month high above 25% last Friday but has now receded overall for the second consecutive week. This week, shorts as a percentage of free float slipped from 23.5% to 21.9% – the lowest level since October of 2024. Likewise, days-to-cover was down from 17.8 to a multi-month low of 15.7. Buyers are driving out the bears following the company's Q1 earnings beat last Thursday that saw the stock surge % in the following session. For the five-day period covered through Thursday, Savers Value was up 20% and year-to-date, shares are up about 8%.
Ortex-reported short interest in Groupon (GRPN) fell steeply after the company's blowout Q1 results this week. Shorts as a percentage of free float collapsed from 36.5% to 30.0%, the lowest level in nearly nine months, with days-to-cover also slipping from 3.4 to a multi-month low of 3.1. The stock surged 42% after Groupon reported a surprise profit against expected Q1 earnings loss and also topped consensus on the top line on Thursday, driving pronounced short-covering late in the week. Year-to-date, Groupon shares have now more than doubled.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

As Consumers Lose Their Appetite, Food Brands Fight to Keep Wall St. Happy
As Consumers Lose Their Appetite, Food Brands Fight to Keep Wall St. Happy

New York Times

time22 minutes ago

  • New York Times

As Consumers Lose Their Appetite, Food Brands Fight to Keep Wall St. Happy

For generations, Cool Whip topped pies. Tropical punch Kool-Aid was served at children's birthday parties. And an Oscar Mayer bologna sandwich was a lunchbox staple. But in recent years, the big packaged food brands that dominated American pantries and refrigerators for decades are struggling as consumers spend less on brand-name cookies, spaghetti sauce and cream cheese. The companies are grappling with a number of stressors. Shoppers, feeling pinched by higher food prices over the past two years, are cutting back or trading down to less expensive private labels. Others are eschewing highly processed foods for healthier, more natural items. And the continued rise of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic are reducing cravings for sugary and salty snacks. Among the debates consuming executives in boardrooms of U.S. food companies is which brands consumers are buying and avoiding — and how large and lasting the impact of the weight-loss drugs will be, said Charlie Hadid, Morgan Stanley's head of consumer investment banking in the Americas. As growth in the packaged goods industry stalls, its stocks have lagged. While the broad S&P 500 index has gained 40 percent over the last two years, an index of food and beverage stocks has flatlined. To jump-start growth and satisfy investors, companies are starting to re-engineer some of the big deals of the past, banking on a smaller-is-better, or narrower-is-better, strategy. Source: FactSet By The New York Times Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

Wall Street Is Challenging the Low-Cost-Investing Revolution
Wall Street Is Challenging the Low-Cost-Investing Revolution

Bloomberg

time22 minutes ago

  • Bloomberg

Wall Street Is Challenging the Low-Cost-Investing Revolution

Ordinary investors have won the battle of fees. The challenge will be holding on to that victory as Wall Street mounts a counteroffensive. Investing today is as easy as opening a free brokerage account and buying a low-cost, commission-free index fund that tracks the broad market, then sitting and marveling as it blossoms. Since I started my first professional job in the mid-1990s, an investment in a cheap S&P 500 Index fund would have grown more than 17-fold, beating virtually every professional investor over that time.

BofA's Hartnett Renews Warnings Around Bubble Risks for Stocks
BofA's Hartnett Renews Warnings Around Bubble Risks for Stocks

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

BofA's Hartnett Renews Warnings Around Bubble Risks for Stocks

(Bloomberg) -- The risk of a bubble in stock markets is rising as monetary policy loosens alongside an easing in financial regulation, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists. Trump Awards $1.26 Billion Contract to Build Biggest Immigrant Detention Center in US The High Costs of Trump's 'Big Beautiful' New Car Loan Deduction Can This Bridge Ease the Troubled US-Canadian Relationship? Salt Lake City Turns Winter Olympic Bid Into Statewide Bond Boom The team led by Michael Hartnett said the world policy rate has fallen to 4.4% from 4.8% in the past year as central banks in the US, UK, Europe and China slashed borrowing costs. The rate is forecast to drop further to 3.9% in the coming 12 months, he said. At the same time, policymakers are considering regulatory changes to boost the share of retail investors in the US. 'Bigger retail, bigger liquidity, bigger volatility, bigger bubble,' Hartnett wrote in a note. The strategist correctly forecast that international stocks would outperform the US this year. He had warned in December that equities were beginning to look frothy after a strong rally in 2024. The S&P 500 Index sank as much as 18% after he issued that call, before rebounding in early April. Hartnett said again in June that stocks could end up in a bubble on the back of expected rate cuts. US stocks have rallied to record highs on optimism around resilient economic growth and corporate earnings even in the face of higher tariffs. Still, the benchmark S&P 500 is trailing international peers this year. Some market forecasters such as Morgan Stanley's Michael Wilson have said there's reason to remain bullish on stocks given positive earnings momentum, robust operating leverage and cash tax savings. However, strategists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and UBS Group AG have warned the market may be getting too complacent about lingering trade risks. Focus next week will be on the Federal Reserve's policy meeting for clues on the path of rate cuts. --With assistance from Michael Msika. Burning Man Is Burning Through Cash Elon Musk's Empire Is Creaking Under the Strain of Elon Musk It's Not Just Tokyo and Kyoto: Tourists Descend on Rural Japan Confessions of a Laptop Farmer: How an American Helped North Korea's Wild Remote Worker Scheme A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store