Frontier Group Short Interest Rises to 51.8%
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, 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 down 1.0%, the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.0%, the Russell 2000 index was up 0.2%, the Russell 2000 Growth ETFwas down 0.6%, and the Russell 2000 Value ETFwas flat in the five-day trading session range through March 19.SHORT INTEREST GAINERSOrtex-reported short interest on Frontier Group Holdingshad previously reached a multi-month high above 50% in the first week of December as the stock price had rallied. Short positioning had then retreated to track in a 35%-42% range over the second half of December and through January-February, though bears have been far more active over the past three weeks, coinciding with the start of the Iran campaign by U.S.-Israel forces. This week, short interest as a percentage of free float jumped from 44.4% to 51.8%, a 10-month high. Similarly, days-to-cover rose sharply from 7.2 to 8.3 despite the increase in trading volume. Shares of Frontier Group were down 6% in the five-day period ended Thursday, though the stock is now down 27% from the start of the Middle East tension as traders react to the double-whammy of higher oil price and heightened travel alertness impacting airline and cruise stocks.Ortex-reported short interest on WisdomTreehad receded from mid-February high levels around 26.5% toward 22% in the first two weeks of March, though this week, shorts as a percentage of free float nudged higher and back above 24% while days-to-cover on the stock rose from 7.8 to 8.6. The stock had been one of the best performing names among its small-cap peers in the asset management space and remains impressively higher double-digits year-to-date in spite of the headwinds encountered by private credit, though it was also down 8.5% in in the five-day period covered through Thursday and has now fallen 24% relative to its 2026 peak just two weeks ago.Ortex-reported short interest in Core Scientifichad tracked in a very narrow 25%-26% range from February 10 through March 10, though this week, traders have turned increasingly willing to underwrite a more bearish case for digital crypto mining names. Short interest as a percentage of free float climbed from 26.5% to 28.3% in the five-day period covered through Thursday even as the stock rose 1.5% against a decidedly negative broader market sentiment. Short positioning is now within two percentage points of its 2026 highs even though the stock is still up about 9% on the year.SHORT INTEREST DECLINERSThe oil shock related to the Middle East conflict has made energy the only market sector to generate gains this week, and this theme is also playing out across our short-interest screen, where every stock in the energy arena has seen its short positioning drastically reduced. Specifically, bearish exposure as a percentage of free float for Fluence Energyfell 10 percentage points to a two-month low of 19.5%, short interest on Northern Oil & Gasfell from 18.4% to a one-year low of 16.1%, while that of HighPeak Energyslipped from 28.4% to a one-month low of 25.3%. Shorts are heading for the exits as the path to an off-ramp from escalation around the Strait of Hormuz - sending oil prices up by about 50% in just three weeks - remains murky, and the performance of those stocks reflect the sharp supply-risk premium: Northern Oil has gained 3% and HighPeak soared by 20%, even though Fluence Energy slipped about 2% in the five-day period covered through Thursday.
