Shake Shack (SHAK)

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Shake Shack (SHAK) Shorts Pile On Following Results, Weak Outlook - S3

August 11, 2017 11:01 AM EDT


S3 Partners Director Matthew Unterman notes increasing short-interest positioning in Shake Shack (NYSE: SHAK), following the company's second quarter earnings report, as management delivered solid EPS and revenue results, overshadowed by disappointing same-store sales and reduction in full-year guidance.

The guidance cut has helped push bearish positioning in SHAK to the highest levels since 2015, with $353.7 notional at risk on 11.1 million shares short. The trade has been a profitable one for bearish speculators, returning $30.4 million in mark-to-market profits or 10.1% return on an average short position of $303.2 million, according to S3 Partners. Furthermore, SHAK bears continue to benefit from relatively inexpensive financing rates for their downside bets, with new shares on loan costing speculators a fee of over 2%. Despite a 89.5% increase since January on shares shorting Shake Shack, short-interest position could continue to increase, if SHAK management can't reverse deteriorating same-store sales trends.