ForgottenEcomony.com

End of October short interest figures were recently released by both the NYSE and Nasdaq, and below we highlight the stocks in the Russell 1,000 with the highest and lowest short interest as a percentage of float.  For the major indices as a whole, short interest is at two-year lows (see our recent short interest report at Bespoke Premium), but there are still plenty of individual stocks that are heavily shorted.

As shown below, Barnes & Noble (BKS) is the Russell 1,000 stock with the highest percentage of its float sold short (45.4%).  Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) ranks second with 40.61% of its float sold short, followed by DIRECTV (29.29%), Alliance Data (25.98%), and KB Home (25.1%).  Other notables on the list of heavily shorted stocks include First Solar (FSLR), NetFlix (NFLX), SunPower (SPWRA), and AIG.  With the markets up significantly this year, it’s not surprising to see that most of the highly shorted stocks are up big as well.  Unless you’ve just taken a short position on these names, it has likely been a rough ride over the past few months.

Wesco Financial (WSC) gets the prize for the least shorted stock in the Russell 1,000 with just .22% of its float sold short.  Mega-cap names like Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, AT&T, and Cisco are all on the list, as investors don’t see much reward for going short these names.  It’s also very surprising to see Bank of America (BAC) on the list of least heavily shorted stocks.

Subscribe to Bespoke Premium to receive our bi-weekly report on short interest trends for the entire market.

For those wondering which stocks we like at any given time, the Bespoke Model Portfolio at Bespoke Premium is where to find them.  Since inception in May 2007, our Model Portfolio is down 3%.  Over the same period of time, the S&P 500 is down 28%.  A $100,000 investment in the Bespoke portfolio is now worth $97,000, while a $100,000 investment in the S&P 500 is now worth just $72,000.  A few of the big winners in the Portfolio this year include Apple, which we added at a price of $87, Google (added at $333), Nordstrom (added at $22.10), and Goldman Sachs (added at $87 and removed today).  Obviously there have been stocks that have gone down in the Portfolio, but we are always able to limit downside risk by setting stop prices on every position.  These stop prices helped limit losses during the bear market, and they also don’t allow you to get “attached” to stocks.  Our cash position in the Portfolio essentially shows our “macro” view of the overall market as well.

Today we added eight new stocks to the Bespoke Model Portfolio.  To view these new additions and also begin receiving our renowned Premium research reports, click here to subscribe to Bespoke Premium today.

While we’re on the topic of stocks, take a look at a historical chart of Amazon.com (AMZN).  After breaking to all-time highs following its recent earnings report, the stock hasn’t looked back and has pretty much gone vertical.  The steepness of the increase in Amazon.com’s share price since last November definitely brings back memories of its rise during the late 90s Internet bubble.  Hopefully the memories of its subsequent fall don’t reappear as well.

As the biggest stock in the world, Exxon Mobil’s stock performance significantly impacts the cap-weighted indices that it is in.  The stock has basically been trading in a range from about $65 to $75 since May, so it hasn’t been one of the names really leading the S&P 500 higher over the last six months.  Exxon is currently testing the top end of its recent sideways trading range, however, and a break above the $75 level could provide a nice spark for both XOM shares and the S&P as a whole.  If Exxon really gets going and forms a new uptrend, the major indices should have no problem closing out the year at their highs.

Subscribe to Bespoke Premium or Premium Plus to receive Bespoke’s timely, actionable investment advice.