The most recent short interest data was recently released by the NASDAQ for the 05/29/2015 settlement date, and Accelerate Diagnostics Inc (AXDX) is one of the most shorted stocks of the Russell 3000, based on 35.12 "days to cover" versus the median component at 6.38. 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.
START SLIDESHOW:
Ten Bargains You Can Buy Cheaper Than The Insiders Did »
So it would stand to reason that should some unexpectedly good news come out, and short sellers did not have 36 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.
Accelerate Diagnostics Inc ( AXDX) 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, AXDX has seen 4 different instances of insider buying, as summarized by the table below:Purchased | Insider | Title | Shares | Price/Share | Value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
01/05/2015 | Jack W. Schuler | Director | 18,000 | $18.93 | $340,660.00 |
03/09/2015 | Jack W. Schuler | Director | 22,584 | $17.18 | $387,993.12 |
03/16/2015 | Jack W. Schuler | Director | 4,000 | $20.55 | $82,200.00 |
03/17/2015 | Lawrence Mehren | PRESIDENT AND CEO | 500 | $20.48 | $10,240.00 |
03/17/2015 | John Patience | Director | 2,000 | $20.00 | $40,000.00 |
03/19/2015 | Matthew Strobeck | Director | 2,000 | $22.04 | $44,080.00 |
04/17/2015 | Jack W. Schuler | Director | 11,000 | $21.94 | $241,310.00 |
