After posting its first two profitable quarters, Twitter’s share price has been soaring, but Ben Eisen reports for the Wall Street Journal that short sellers have the social media network in their sights. He writes:
Now, as optimism about the company prompts a slew of analysts to lift their price targets, some short-sellers are betting on a reversal. They have amassed positions worth more than $2 billion this month through Thursday, according to s3 Partners, a financial analytics firm.
“Shorts have been selling into this rally, backing up their original bets and looking to double up on their profits,” said Ihor Dusaniwsky, managing director of predictive analytics at S3 Partners.
The company’s soaring share price has helped grow the dollar amount of short interest. But the number of shares shorted has risen as well, climbing by seven million so far this month. Twitter’s short interest climbed to 7.2% of its free float, or shares outstanding that are available to trade, from 4.7% a month ago and 5.6% at the beginning of the year.
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