Short Sellers Move On Google, Pandora, Yelp

Among the leading social media companies based in the United States,

in

A shares,

and

grew by the largest percentage between the December 31 and January 15 settlement dates. Below we take a quick look at how these three stocks have fared recently and what analysts expect from them. That is followed by a glance at the short interest trends in other social media stocks.

Short interest in A shares of this Mountain View, California-based operator of Google+ and YouTube grew more than 9 percent, on top of a 27 percent jump in the previous period. The 3.29 million shares short on January 15 is a little more than 1 percent of the float, as well as the greatest level of short interest since last June. Analysts are looking for double-digit percentage growth of revenue for both the current quarter and the full year. Google's long-term earnings per share (EPS) growth forecast is more than 16 percent. It has a market capitalization near $348 billion. Class A shares include voting rights. For at least three months, the consensus recommendation of analysts surveyed by Thomson/First Call has been to buy these shares. Of the 49 analysts polled, 16 rate the stock at Strong Buy. They believe the shares have plenty of head room, as the mean price target is about 19 percent higher than the current share price. Short sellers watched shares pull back about 5 percent in the two-week period, compared to less than 4 percent for the Nasdaq, but the stock rose again afterward. It has underperformed the likes of Facebook and Yahoo over the past six months, as well as the broader markets. See also:

Short interest in this Oakland, California-based Internet radio provider increased more than 11 percent in the first weeks of the year to more than 29.66 million shares. That was about 15 percent of the total float, as well as the most shares short in at least a year. Days to cover dropped from more than six to less than five. The

at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company has a market cap of about $3.5 billion and a long-term EPS growth forecast of more than 56 percent. However, both the return on equity and the operating margin remain in negative territory. Of the 31 polled analysts, 23 recommend buying shares, with eight of them rating the stock at Strong Buy. Their mean price target, or where they expect the share price to go, is almost 42 percent higher than the current share price. That target is less than the 52-week high from last March, though. The share price tumbled about 14 percent during the short interest period, though it has recovered more than 9 percent since. Shares are still down about 6 percent year to date. The stock has not only underperformed the S&P 500 over the past six months, but competitor Sirius XM as well.

This San Francisco-based company saw its short interest swing up about 12 percent in early January to more than 9.76 million shares, or about 16 percent of the float. That took back most of the decline in the number of shares sold short in the previous period. It would take less than four days to cover all short positions. Rumors that

resurfaced in early January. Yelp has a market cap of less than $4 billion. Both its return on equity and operating margin are less than 1 percent. Also, its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is sky high. For at least three months, the consensus recommendation of the polled analysts has been to buy shares. A move to their mean price target would represent a gain of more than 34 percent for the shares. Note that Yelp shares traded higher than that consensus target as recently as September. Although short sellers watched shares fall more than 8 percent in the two-week settlement period, the stock has recovered somewhat since. Shares have challenged the 50-day moving average recently. The stock has underperformed Yahoo and the broader markets over the past six months. See also:

Short interest grew more modestly in Google C shares, Groupon, Shutterfly, United Online and Zynga as the year got underway. However, the number of shares short in eBay and MeetMe fell by double-digit percentages, and short sellers also lost interest in Angie's List, Facebook and Twitter. The number of LinkedIn shares short was about the same at the beginning and end of the period. Furthermore, note that the number of U.S.-listed shares (or ADSs) sold short of Chinese social media companies Baidu, Renren and Sohu.com declined early in January, while short interest in Sina, Weibo, YouKu Todou and YY increased.

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