During the first half of March, sophisticated market participants heightened their short positions against plant-based food producer Tattooed Chef (NASDAQ:TTCF) and numerous biotech firms.
As of March 15, Tattooed Chef’s short interest escalated by approximately 4% to 17.1 million shares, constituting around 35% of its total float, as per FactSet data. Concurrently, short interest in Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) persisted at elevated levels, despite a marginal 2.5% decline to around 21 million shares, equating to 36% of the company’s float.
Additionally, several biotech enterprises experienced a surge in short interest this month. Allogene Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ALLO), a clinical-stage biotech firm specializing in cancer treatments, witnessed an 8% increase in short positions to 39.8 million shares, or about 50% of its total float. Sana Biotechnology (NASDAQ:SANA), a company focusing on engineered cells for medicinal purposes, reported a short interest of 30 million shares or roughly 37% of its float. Meanwhile, Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT), a clinical-stage biotech entity employing gene-editing techniques for rare diseases, saw an 8% rise in short interest to 20.6 million shares or about 30% of float.
Furthermore, short interest in Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) surged by 11% to 13.7 million shares or nearly 32% of its tradable shares, while ImmunityBio’s (NASDAQ:IBRX) short interest climbed to 25.5 million shares, constituting around 31% of its float.
All these stocks, traded on either the NYSE or Nasdaq, have short positions accounting for a minimum of 25% of their total float and market capitalizations surpassing $100 million. As of March 15, these are the most heavily shorted stocks for the month.
