Short Interest Is Soaring in GE, Fitbit, 3 More Stocks

#3 Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT)

 – Increase in Short Interest Between June 15 and June 30: 35.12%

 – Hedge Funds with Long Positions (as of March 31): 30

 – Aggregate Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of March 31): $273.92 million

Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT) is another company that has lost a significant amount of its market capitalization since its IPO. Shares of the wearables manufacturer have lost over 55% of their value this year alone and are currently trading considerably lower than their IPO price of $20. During the second-half of June, when the stock made its all-time low of $11.65, the short interest in the company rose by 35.12% to cover 37.12% of its float. Leading analysts on Wall Street who cover the stock currently have fairly divergent views on it. While some of them believe that the company will find it extremely hard to survive in the hypercompetitive wearables market going forward, other analysts think that it has strong earnings growth potential. On July 15, analysts at Oppenheimer Holdings reiterated their ‘Outperform’ rating and $25 price target on the stock.

During the first quarter, the number of hedge funds in our system long Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT) inched up by three, but the aggregate value of their holdings in it declined by $76.65 million. Hedge funds that lowered their stake in the company during that time included Philippe Laffont‘s Coatue Management, which brought its holding down by 11% to 1.35 million shares.

#2 Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CIE)

 – Increase in Short Interest Between June 15 and June 30: 37.39%

 – Hedge Funds with Long Positions (as of March 31): 25

 – Aggregate Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of March 31): $429.06 million

Moving on, ownership of Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CIE) among the hedge funds that we cover increased by two to 25 during the first quarter, while the aggregate value of their holdings in it jumped by almost $148 million. Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CIE)’s stock has been declining consistently since the start of 2014 and has lost over 70% of its value this year. During late June, the short interest in the company rose by 37.39% to cover 15.74% of its outstanding shares. Following the resignation of its Chairman and CEO, Joseph Bryant, on May 31, Cobalt International Energy named Timothy Cutt as the new CEO of the company, effective June 2. James Dinan‘s York Capital Management upped its stake in the company by 34% to 95.77 million shares during the first quarter.

#1 General Electric Company (NYSE:GE)

 – Increase in Short Interest Between June 15 and June 30: 69%

 – Hedge Funds with Long Positions (as of March 31): 64

 – Aggregate Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of March 31): $5.47 billion

Digital industrial behemoth General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) witnessed a glaring 69% increase in its short interest during the second-half of June, though it still only represented 2.05% of its float on June 30. Despite such a drastic rise in the short interest, shares of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) have performed extremely well since late-June and are currently trading close to their seven-year high. The company is expected to report its second quarter results later this week and analysts project it to report EPS of $0.46 on revenue of $31.76 billion. For the same quarter of last year, General Electric delivered EPS of $0.31 on revenue of $29.32 billion. General Electric Company’s stock currently sports an average rating of ‘Overweight’ and an average price target of $32.56 on it from the 19 leading analysts and research firms on Wall Street who track it.

During the first quarter, the number of hedge funds covered by us with long positions in the stock increased by ten, though the aggregate value of their holdings in it fell by $260 million. Billionaire Ken Fisher‘s Fisher Asset Management inched up its stake in the company by 1% to 31.31 million shares during the second quarter.

Disclosure: None