Short Interest Data: Who Saw the Biggest Increases and Decreases?

During the quant fund crisis over the past month, some fund managers were forced to unwind both long and short positions as redemptions or deleveraging took place. The recent short interest data released by the exchanges offers some insight into which stocks saw the biggest decreases or increases in bearish bets over the last month. The first table below highlights the 25 stocks in the Russell 1,000 that saw the largest monthly decreases in short interest, while the second table highlights the 25 with the biggest increases. The stock that saw the biggest increase in short interest was Clorox (CLX), rising 367% from a month earlier.

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For those looking for a list of the most heavily shorted stocks, below we provide the 25 stocks in the Russell 1,000 with the greatest shares short as a % of float. Indymac BNCP Inc. (IMB) tops the list at nearly 60%, followed by Nutrisystem Inc. (NTRI) at 40% and MGIC Investment CP(MTG) at 32%. Other notables on the list are homebuilders KB Home (KBH), MVRLP (NVR) and Ryland Group Inc. (RYL) along with RadioShack Corp. (RSH), CROCS Inc. (CROX), and Southern Copper Corp. (PCU).