Baird says short interest increased in April in the fashion and wellness industries

Baird analysts evaluated the short interest levels across stocks in the fashion and wellness industry, as of April 15. “Overall, short interest across our coverage increased vs. the end of March (median 6.3% vs. 5.2%) to the highest levels since mid-November,” the firm’s analysts said.

Looking at specific names, the firm found that Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN), e.l.f. Beauty Inc. (ELF) and Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA) saw the largest increases in shares sold short in the last month.

At the same time, The TJX Co. (TJX), The Gap Inc. (GPS) and Birkenstock Holding Plc. (BIRK) saw the largest decreases, according to a Baird Equity Research report issued this week.

When it comes to percentage of the float, Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE:KSS) had the highest short interest with 32.6% of the float sold short. This was above the one-year average of 24.1%.

KSS was followed by Revolve Group Inc. (RVLV) at 21.8% of the float sold short (below its one-year average of 25.8%), and by The RealReal Inc. (REAL) at 19% (above its one-year average of 16.2%).

The lowest short interest stocks among the group were The TJX Co. (TJX) at 0.8%, Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) at 1.1%, and Bath & Body Works Inc. (BBWI) at 2.2%.

In addition, since April 15, Urban Outfitters (URBN) had the largest percent increase in short interest at about 38%, followed by e.l.f. Beauty (ELF) up 25%, and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) up 15% off a low base.

The TJX Co. (TJX) had the largest decrease in short interest compared to last month at -29%, followed by The Gap (GPS) at -11%, and Birkenstock (BIRK) at -9%.