The most recent short interest data was recently released by the NASDAQ for the 08/30/2013 settlement date, and Luminex Corp (LMNX) is one of the most shorted stocks of the Russell 3000, based on 11.20 "days to cover" versus the median component at 5.87. There are a number of ways to look at short data, but one metric that we find particularly useful is the "days to cover" because it considers both the total shares short and the average daily volume of shares typically traded. The number of shares short is then divided by the average daily volume, to express the total number of trading days it would take to close out all of the open short positions if every share traded represented a short position being closed.
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So it would stand to reason that should some unexpectedly good news come out, and short sellers did not have 12 days of patience but instead wanted to cover their short positions very suddenly, that situation could result in sending the stock higher until the higher price produces enough sellers to generate the necessary volume to close out those positions quickly.
Luminex Corp ( LMNX) has something relatively rare for a stock with this much short interest, that being insiders taking the other side of the trade. Looking back over the trailing six month period, LMNX has seen 2 different instances of insider buying, as summarized by the table below:Purchased | Insider | Title | Shares | Price/Share | Value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
05/03/2013 | G. Walter Loewenbaum II | Director | 24,765 | $17.02 | $421,566.10 |
05/07/2013 | G. Walter Loewenbaum II | Director | 64,935 | $17.17 | $1,114,865.21 |
05/09/2013 | G. Walter Loewenbaum II | Director | 28,300 | $17.21 | $487,114.84 |
05/10/2013 | G. Walter Loewenbaum II | Director | 19,000 | $18.13 | $344,487.10 |
05/15/2013 | G. Walter Loewenbaum II | Director | 39,500 | $18.32 | $723,728.25 |
05/16/2013 | Fred C. Goad Jr. | Director | 8,000 | $18.18 | $145,439.20 |
05/16/2013 | G. Walter Loewenbaum II | Director | 7,500 | $17.89 | $134,175.00 |
05/24/2013 | Fred C. Goad Jr. | Director | 11,250 | $18.25 | $205,312.50 |
08/01/2013 | G. Walter Loewenbaum II | Director | 13,000 | $18.37 | $238,810.00 |
08/05/2013 | G. Walter Loewenbaum II | Director | 27,000 | $20.01 | $540,199.80 |
08/06/2013 | G. Walter Loewenbaum II | Director | 400 | $19.96 | $7,984.00 |
08/09/2013 | G. Walter Loewenbaum II | Director | 4,600 | $21.17 | $97,382.00 |
08/15/2013 | G. Walter Loewenbaum II | Director | 10,000 | $20.82 | $208,190.00 |
08/28/2013 | G. Walter Loewenbaum II | Director | 20,000 | $20.76 | $415,250.51 |
08/30/2013 | G. Walter Loewenbaum II | Director | 6,034 | $20.62 | $124,430.09 |
