Short Interest in Retail Sector (XRT) Declines Sequentially for First Time Since Early April - Cowen

Cowen analyst John Kernan noted short in the retail sector fell sequentially for the first time since early April.

Kerna commented, "XRT has underperformed the SPX each of the past five years in the July - August time frame (XRT is -290bps to SPX since 7/1) and with valuations at peak levels we would be selective in the group. Sector short interest stands at 5.73% of the total float, which is the lowest level since the end of May. Our top long picks are NKE, GIII and UA."

The analyst noted Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) had the largest % increase from the 7/15/2015 data, +16%, as their short interest increased from 4% to 4.6% of float.

The stock with the largest short interest position in the group remains Iconix Brand Group (NASDAQ: ICON) with 30% of their floated shares short, second was Fossil Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL) 23%, third was Guess? (NYSE: GES) at 21%, followed by Lululemon (NASDAQ: LULU) with 20% and Deckers Brands (NASDAQ: DECK) with 16% short interest.

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