6 Hot Stocks Among Shorts: IBM, Exxon Mobil And More

Astec Analytics is a provider of timely and accurate intra-day short selling data and information, which helps investors better understand changes in investor sentiment.

Here is a summary of notable short data for the prior week.

Top Pick: IBM

Ranking as the top short idea is International Business Machines Corp. IBM, a stock that has appeared on Astec Analytics' top shorts in the past but wasn't included in last week's report.

Shares of IBM gained nearly 50 percent over the past year while short interest has risen a net 20 percent over the time period, which suggests short sellers are accepting unrealized losses on their position but remain confident in the long-term bear thesis.

1. Cliffs Natural Resources

Similar to IBM, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc CLF is a frequent name on the list but was absent last week.

Cliffs closed last week at $9.02, which implies a rise of nearly 500 percent over the past year. Over the same time period, short sellers avoided the trade and even closed 61 percent of their open positions through January 20 while short interest recorded a new 12-month low.

Put into context, Cliffs' stock was trading north of $70 five years ago and long-term investors on the short side have been greatly rewarded.

2. Exxon Mobil

New to this week's list is the energy giant Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM. Short sellers have been active in closing their short positions in Exxon since the start of the year at a time when the stock is down more than $5 per share since January 1.

"While last week's close is still up $10 from the levels seen 12 months ago, the current downward trend seems at odds with expectations," the report noted. "The next few weeks may help clarify what is happening at Exxon."

3. Ziopharm Oncology

After ranking No. 4 last week, ZIOPHARM Oncology Inc. ZIOP moved up a spot as the stock closed last week at $5.78, up just $0.19 for the week.

Last week's report noted that 97 percent of the available supply of Ziopharm's stock has already been borrowed, but has since grown and is now above the 100 percent limit as new availability was immediately grabbed up by short sellers.

4. Tesla Motors

Moving down one spot from last week is Tesla Motors Inc TSLA as short positions continue to be added by investors. In fact, volume grew by 13 percent over the past week and hit a new 52-week high at a time when the stock actually gained more than 3 percent in value.

Shorts continue sitting on unrealized losses, but this could either be a "blip" or "the beginning of the reversal the short sellers have been waiting for" and clarity could come within a few weeks.

5. Immunomedics

Immunomedics, Inc. IMMU, a highly volatile pharmaceutical company, is a new entry in the short list.

After trading below $2 per share a year ago the stock peaked at $5.30 in June and then quickly tumbled below the $2 per share mark again. Last week, the stock closed at $4.65 but short interest is standing at 89.5 percent of availability which indicates shareholders aren't convinced the current price is sustainable.