Analyzing Short Interest in Cobalt International Energy’s Stock

• As of July 14, 2017, Cobalt International Energy’s (CIE) total shares shorted (or short interest) stood at ~4.37 million, whereas its average daily volume is ~1.03 million. That means the short interest ratio for CIE stock is ~4.23x. The average daily volume here is calculated for the short interest reporting period from July 1, 2017, to July 14, 2017.

• Cobalt International Energy’s short interest ratio has a 52-week high of 116.1x and a 52-week low of 4.0x.
• Cobalt International Energy’s short interest as a percentage of its 20-day average volume, 90-day average volume, and 180-day average volume is 7.1x, 5.9x, and 7.0x, respectively.
• From the perspective of shares outstanding, the current short interest in Cobalt International Energy stock as a percentage of shares outstanding is ~14.4%.
• Short interest in Cobalt International Energy stock as a percentage of shares outstanding is on the higher side when compared to many other upstream stocks from the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP).
• As you can see in the above graph, short year-to-date interest in Cobalt International Energy stock as a percentage of shares outstanding has risen from ~13.0% to ~14.4% in 2017, despite an ~87.0% fall in CIE stock during the same period. To know more about CIE stock, refer to Part 5 of this series.

CIE’s peers California Resources (CRC), W&T Offshore (WTI), and Southwestern Energy (SWN) have short interest as a percentage of shares outstanding of ~39.1%, ~6.0%, and ~9.8%, respectively. Cobalt International Energy, California Resources (CRC), W&T Offshore (WTI), and Southwestern Energy (SWN) saw increases in their short interest in the last month. The Direxion Daily Energy Bull 3X ETF (ERX) is a leveraged ETF that invests in domestic companies from the energy sector.