HOV Failure Speaks Volumes About the Sector

Wow, Hovnanian (HOV - commentary - Cramer's Take) just tanked. They couldn't hold the print price. Looks like the shorts are digging in. Impressive.

I can't think of a reason to own Hovnanian, but I haven't been able to think of a reason to own any homebuilder for years. My point is that they have become crummy shorts because something happened this cycle that I didn't expect: The banks just didn't pull the plugs on these guys, even though they had every right to do so. That decision by the banks, collectively, has been dreadful -- suicidal, in fact. Had they bitten the bullet and crushed these guys, the houses would no longer be pumped out and the decline in home pricings would have largely run its course.

What's interesting is that the shorts just pounded out the syndicate biz, broke the print and are now causing fear among all of those who bought on the deal.

The brain-dead value players don't know the difference, but this block is in many ways more indicative of the true feeling of the market toward this group than the major bounce it has had for the past six months.

At the time of publication, Cramer had no positions in the stocks mentioned.

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