The bears have been greedily feasting on what’s left of J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) for months.
The most heavily shorted stock in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, Penney shares have collapsed by 50% so far this year to a 13-year low, as its disastrous merchandising changes under former CEO Ron Johnson deflate sales and drain the company’s cash rapidly.
Yet Penney is a glaring exception rather than the rule in the 2013 market, in which short-sellers have largely gone hungry. In fact, the most heavily shorted stocks in the market have gone up on average more than the broad market has, a trend most gaudily shown by the rocket flights of Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) and Netflix Inc. (NFLX), up 430% and 240% this year, respectively. The AdvisorShares Ranger Equity Bear ETF (HDGE), a short-selling fund, is down 20.3% in ’13 -- more than the major indexes are up.
The stocks that have drawn the largest number of skeptics extended their advantage in the September market rebound. Bespoke Investment Group
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