The Most Shorted Stocks In The Russell 3000

Posted by Bigtrends on September 23, 2016 3:00 PM

This 130-year-old retailer is the most hated stock in the U.S.
Weight Watchers, Herablife also heavily shorted

by Sue Chang

The most hated stock in the U.S. is a holding company for a 130-year-old department store in the midst of an existential crisis.

Short interest as a percentage of float for Sears Holdings (SHLD) SHLD, -0.43% had hit 65.64% as of Tuesday, making it the most heavily shorted stock among the Russell 3000, according to Bespoke Investment Group.

Put another way, an overwhelmingly large number of investors are betting that the shares will fall further, even in the wake of the stock’s 43% decline this year.

Sears, like other brick-and-mortar stores, is reeling from shrinking sales as shoppers increasingly turn to online retailers. Its efforts to revive its business — which includes Kmart stores as well as the namesake chain — through revamping its pricing and improved inventory management have so far yielded few positive results.

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Source:  Bespoke Investment Group

Weight Watchers International Inc. (WTW) WTW, -1.68% , even with its Oprah Winfrey seal of approval, is also not getting much love, with 62.36% of its floating shares shorted. The stock, which had soared after the media mogul took a 10% stake in the company in October, has since shed most of its Oprah-sparked gains to leave it down 54% during the course of 2016.

Herbalife Ltd. (HLF) HLF, +0.72% , a stock that often makes headlines as the focal point of an acrimonious feud between billionaires Bill Ackman and Carl Icahn, is also a popular short, with its SIPF at 39.55%. Herbalife, however, has thumbed its nose at the short sellers, gaining 14% this year.

The Russell 3000 (RUT) (IWM) RUA, -0.48%  represents 3,000 of the largest U.S. stocks and is a broader benchmark than the S&P 500 (SPX) (SPY) SPX, -0.42% , which tracks large caps, or the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) (DIA) DJIA, -0.54% .

Courtesy of marketwatch.com

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