Over the last couple of weeks, the stock market has been drifting higher on low volume and volatility. Late in the week, the S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) actually broke out to a new high, piercing the early-May high which had served as resistance for many weeks.
However, the bigger development has been the huge moves in individual stocks with the bulk of it being in stocks with high levels of short interest. This is despite many of the meme stocks such as AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC), BlackBerry (NYSE: BB), and Clover Health (NASDAQ: CLOV) backing off from their recent highs. If we look at the previous burst in meme stocks in January, we can see that the market continued drifting higher for nearly 2 weeks following the top in these stocks.
This period also saw big gains in other stocks with high levels of short interest. Thus, investors and traders should monitor the following 3 stocks with high short interest:
Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK)
Chesapeake is one of the largest producers of natural gas in the U.S. The outlook for natural gas prices is quite bullish in the short term as industrial demand is increasing due to the strong economy. On the supply side, natural gas capex has been at low levels for many years due to high amounts of production from shale projects.
Typically, natural gas prices are higher in the winter and drop in the summer. However this summer, nat gas prices are higher than they were last winter, indicating that something is afoot. The company recently came out of bankruptcy earlier this year which gives it a relatively clean balance sheet. It's also attractively valued with a forward PE of 14.5. 34.6% of the company's shares are sold short which could be a potent catalyst.
Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (NYSE: SKT)
Retail stocks have been outperforming the last couple of months and also posting strong earnings results. It's due to a combination of increasing foot traffic and strong consumer spending.
Another area that will likely benefit are REITs with a heavy concentration of retail holdings. Tanger Factory Outlets has been consolidating between $16 and $22 for most of the year. Given its 25% short float, it's certainly possible that we could see a huge spike higher in the coming weeks if these market conditions persist.
GoodRx (Nasdaq: GDRX)
GoodRx made its public debut last year. Like many IPOs, the stock price has floundered in recent months. Another issue for GoodRx is that its business model is very different from other healthcare-type businesses that it can be hard to value. Further, the company is prone to disruption from any sort of changes in the law.
So, it's not surprising that many are eager to bet against it, leading to a 28% short float. However, in recent weeks, we've seen many IPOs finally start to catch a bid. Additionally, the threat of healthcare legislation at the federal level seems unlikely especially as the Democrats in the Senate seem unwilling to cancel the filibuster to advance legislation.