Looking for stocks with the bullish backing of short sellers and company insiders? Look no further, we’ve made a list:
Short Covering
For as smart as the short sellers think they are, they don’t always get their bets right when they peg a stock’s share price to dip. (Short sellers win when share price falls.) Short sellers avoid being damaged too much from a faulty bet by covering the short, which occurs when hedge their buys back stock in anticipation that share price will increase. When a stock is seeing increased covering from short sellers it’s seen as a a bullish indicator.
We screened for stocks with a decrease in shares shorted month over month.
Insider Buying
A second sign that an asset could be facing an increase in value is if people inside the company are purchasing its stock. This is called insider buying, a perfectly legal transactions where company management and board members use their own money to buy shares of the firm. All such trades must be reported within 2 business days and the information is made public. Investors keep an eye on this information because, after all, no one has more information on how a company is functioning than those closest to the action.
We screened for stocks with net positive insider buying activity in the past six months.
Business Section: Investment Ideas
Interested in finding stocks displaying growth characteristics? We have developed a list of firms that both have high short covering activity at this time and have leaders at their company engaging in insider buying.
Use this list as a starting point for your own analysis.
Use the Turbo Chart to Compare the Performance of the First Two Companies in the List to the S&P 500:
1. Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALXA, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Shares shorted have decreased from 2.68M to 318.37K over the last month, a decrease which represents about 24.% of the company’s float of 9.84M shares. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 374,978 shares, which represents about 3.81% of the company’s 9.84M share float.
2. CTC Media, Inc (CTCM, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Operates as an independent broadcasting company in Russia. Market cap at $1.19B, most recent closing price at $7.50. Shares shorted have decreased from 1.58M to 955.24K over the last month, a decrease which represents about 14.84% of the company’s float of 4.21M shares. Days to cover ratio at 1.37 days. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 163,808 shares, which represents about 3.89% of the company’s 4.21M share float.
3. Meru Networks, Inc. (MERU, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Shares shorted have decreased from 2.76M to 2.51M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 2.67% of the company’s float of 9.37M shares. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 281,689 shares, which represents about 3.01% of the company’s 9.37M share float.
4. Overstock.com Inc. (OSTK, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Operates as an online retailer offering discount brand, non-brand, and closeout merchandise in the United States. Market cap at $146.14M, most recent closing price at $6.24. Shares shorted have decreased from 4.76M to 4.64M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.% of the company’s float of 11.96M shares. Days to cover ratio at 29.42 days. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 400,644 shares, which represents about 3.35% of the company’s 11.96M share float.
5. Universal Display Corp. (PANL, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Engages in the research, development, and commercialization of organic light emitting diode (OLED) technologies and materials for use in flat panel display, solid-state lighting, and other product applications. Market cap at $1.65B, most recent closing price at $35.53. Shares shorted have decreased from 14.41M to 14.03M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.07% of the company’s float of 35.64M shares. Days to cover ratio at 12.9 days. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 867,597 shares, which represents about 2.43% of the company’s 35.64M share float.
6. Primo Water Corporation (PRMW, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Shares shorted have decreased from 3.08M to 2.79M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.43% of the company’s float of 20.35M shares. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 449,018 shares, which represents about 2.21% of the company’s 20.35M share float.
7. Texas Industries Inc. (TXI, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Engages in the production and supply of heavy construction materials in the United States. Market cap at $1.25B, most recent closing price at $44.78. Shares shorted have decreased from 4.62M to 4.38M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.91% of the company’s float of 12.58M shares. Days to cover ratio at 15.42 days. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 1,447,670 shares, which represents about 11.51% of the company’s 12.58M share float.
8. EXCO Resources Inc. (XCO, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Engages in the exploration, exploitation, development, and production of onshore North American oil and natural gas properties with a focus on shale resource plays. Market cap at $1.52B, most recent closing price at $7.01. Shares shorted have decreased from 33.86M to 30.68M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 2.4% of the company’s float of 132.76M shares. Days to cover ratio at 4.46 days. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 1,332,320 shares, which represents about 1.% of the company’s 132.76M share float.
Written by Dan Connelly
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Analyze These Ideas: Getting Started
- Read descriptions for all companies mentioned
- Access a performance overview for all stocks in the list
- Compare analyst ratings for the companies mentioned
- Compare analyst ratings to annual returns for stocks mentioned
- Real-Time Opinion: Scan the latest tweets about these companies (feed will open in a new window)
Dig Deeper: Access Company Snapshots, Charts, Filings
- Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALXA, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- CTC Media, Inc (CTCM, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Meru Networks, Inc. (MERU, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Overstock.com Inc. (OSTK, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Universal Display Corp. (PANL, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Primo Water Corporation (PRMW, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Texas Industries Inc. (TXI, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- EXCO Resources Inc. (XCO, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
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