6 Hottest Stocks Among Shorts

Astec Analytics is a provider of timely and accurate intraday short selling data and information, which helps investors better understand changes in investor sentiment.

Here is a summary of notable short data, according to data from FIS' Asetc Analytics.

Top Pick: Cliffs Natural Resources

Shares of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc CLF traded as low as $1.20 and as high as $8.45 throughout 2016. Short interest in the stock has been declining since June 2016 and is near its 12-month low, which suggests that the stock's decline from $76 in January 2012 to under $6 this week "may have finally leveled out."

Exxon Mobil

Short positions in Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM have grown by 2 percent this week, but short interest as a whole remains around 20 percent above the 12-month low and almost 60 percent below the 12-month peak.

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Crane Co.

Short interest in Crane Co. CR recently hit its lowest level since January. However, over the past two weeks, short interest levels have grown by 73 percent as the stock lost 1.5 percent over the same time period, which may signal further declines.

Tesla Motors

Tesla Motors Inc TSLA's stock saw a 12-month low for short interest in late September as shares rebounded back over the $200 price mark. However, since then short interest in the electric auto maker grew more than 10 percent but an expected announcement regarding its proposed SolarCity Corp SCTY acquisition makes it a "tough call to decide where Tesla shares are headed next."

GoPro

Short interest in GoPro Inc GPRO actually fell by 6 percent last week but as a proportion of the shares available to borrow, GoPro's short interest grew more than 2 percent. This suggests a "contraction of supply as investors sell out of their positions."

SolarCity

Finally, SolarCity remains a "very crowded short trade" as more than 97 percent of the available shares are borrowed and borrowing costs have risen 10 percent last week alone. This suggests the "future does not look bright" for SolarCity unless it is saved by a Tesla acquisition.

At Last Check ...

• Cliffs was down 5.41 percent at $5.42.
• Crane was down 0.38 percent at $60.88.
• Exxon was down 0.78 percent at $86.28.
• GoPro was down 3.22 percent at $13.84.
• SolarCity was down 1.05 percent at $19.79.
• Tesla was down 0.68 percent at $200.14.

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