SunGard's Astec Analytics looks into short-selling activity weekly.
This week’s top pick, from a securities lending perspective, is none other than Apple Inc. AAPL .
Other stocks that are seeing substantial short-selling activity include Chesapeake Energy Corporation CHK , GoPro Inc GPRO , Fitbit Inc FIT , ZIOPHARM Oncology Inc. ZIOP and Keryx Biopharmaceuticals KERX .
SunGard's
Astec Analytics
provides intraday short-selling market data via securities lending
analytics. In a recent report sent to clients, the firm shared a
“roundup of some of the hottest stocks from a securities lending
perspective.”
Below is a look at Karl Loomes’ list of top stocks in the Americas – from a security lending perspective.
Apple
Same as last week, Apple was Astec’s top pick for the Americas this
week. The company was once again in the spotlight as it released its new
iPhone 6S, “which as usual saw fans queuing around the street in anticipation.”
Management said that based on pre-orders it anticipates sales in the
first weekend to surpass the 10 million units its predecessor sold last
year. “Despite this, the company’s share price saw fairly mixed trade
during the week,” the report assured.
“While Astec’s data suggests [
sic] short sellers have been
taking a bearish view for the firm over the past month, during which
time borrowing volumes have climbed 32 percent.”
GoPro
Maintaining its spot from last week, GoPro is number two in Astec’s list.
This week
Facebook Inc FB
launched a new 360-degree video facility, which GoPro cameras “are set
to dominate in, utilizing a proprietary six-camera spherical rig that
was announced earlier this year,” the report explained.
However, Loomes noted, wider concerns regarding the wearable
technology industry were noticeable in trading action for the most part.
In fact, the number of GoPro shares being borrowed climbed roughly four
times higher over September, hitting their highest levels since the
company went public.
Chesapeake Energy
Also maintaining its spot from last week is Chesapeake. Over the past
week, oil prices took another blow, following the release of official
data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), which showed
crude production in the United States has increased to 9.14m/bpd. In
addition, The Street’s online research platform rates the stock a sell.
“The ongoing trouble with the oil markets saw its shares pressured
during the week, though on the borrowing front our data hints at the
first stages of slackening demand to short sell its stock, with the cost
of borrowing falling from more than 16 percent to about 12 percent,”
Loomes expounded.
Fitbit
Fitbit was once again on the spotlight this week, following the
release of official exchange short selling data, which showed short
sellers were reducing their positions in the company. Nonetheless,
Astec’s data, “which covers the period that the official numbers have
yet to show, suggests this was actually merely a dip in the metric
rather than a sustained change in attitude.”
The firm’s lending data shows that the amount of Fitbit shares being
borrowed did decline about 21 percent in the first two weeks of the
month. However, the figure has bounced back since, surpassing previous
levels and surging 55 percent in the second half of the month.
ZIOPHARM Oncology
ZIOPHARM made it to this week’s list on the back of “selling pressure
brought about by technical trading – its price seen as crossing a key
support level, which triggered a number of large stops in the market,
forcing traders to sell the stock and bringing about a 14 percent drop
in Friday’s session.”
Having said this, the technical moves mentioned above apparently did
not receive “a matched reaction on the part of short sellers,” as
borrowing volumes actually fell three percent on Friday. Nonetheless,
overall borrowing volumes are still high, 16 percent above where they
stood a month ago.
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals
Finally, there’s Keryx, which made it to the list after gaining
European approval for its hyperphosphatemia treatment Fexeric. Despite
the good news, the company’s stock price “held in the red for most of
the week.”
According to Asctec’s borrowing data, short selling activity seems to
be increasing. The number of Keryx shares being borrowed rose 9 percent
over the past couple of weeks.
