The Canadian stocks we’ve identified all have a short interest greater than 5%, suggesting these equities are potentially overvalued
SmallCapPower | April 19, 2021: Major indices such as the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and NASDAQ have been hitting all times highs and are characterized by increasing bullish investor sentiment. However, some investors do not believe all the hype and are betting that certain stocks are overvalued. Today, we have discovered four TSX listed Canadian stocks with the largest short positions as a percentage of their float, as of March 31, 2021.
*Share prices and other metrics as of April 16, 2021
HEXO Corp. (TSX:HEXO) – $6.90
Cannabis
Headquartered in Gatineau, Quebec, HEXO is a consumer-packaged goods (CPG) cannabis company that manufactures and distributes products in the Canadian market. HEXO specializes in medical cannabis and aims to become the highest-quality producer and distributor of medical cannabis products throughout Europe. The Company is one of the largest licensed cannabis companies in Canada. HEXO operates 1.8M sq. ft of production facilities in Ontario and Quebec, yielding 150,000 kg annually. HEXO recently announced that it has filed regulatory paperwork to be able to raise an additional 1.2 billion in funds through the issuance of stock, warrants, debt, and a combination over the next 24 months.
- Market Cap: $845.0M
- YTD-Return: +47.8%
- 30-Day Share Price Return: -28.6%
- 30-Day Average Trading Volume: 1,376,470
- Shares in Float: 116.12M
- Shares Held Short: 8.21M
- % Shares Short: 7.1%
Laurentian Bank of Canada (TSX:LB) – $40.17
Banks
Founded in 1846, Laurentian Bank Financial Group is a Canada-based chartered bank that provides banking services to individuals, and small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as to independent advisors across the country and operates as a full-service brokerage firm. The Company provides a broad range of advice-based solutions and services to its retail, business and institutional customers. Laurentian has $45.2 billion in balance sheet assets and $29.2 billion in assets under administration.
- Market Cap: $1,741.2M
- YTD-Return: +28.8%
- 30-Day Share Price Return: +0.0%
- 30-Day Average Trading Volume: 228,900
- Shares in Float: 42.91M
- Shares Held Short: 2.56M
- % Shares Short: 6.0%
The Bitcoin Fund (TSX:QBTC) – $84.23
Cryptocurrencies
The Bitcoin Fund was founded in 2012 by 3iQ, which is Canada’s largest digital asset investment fund manager with more than C$2.2 billion in assets under management. 3iQ was the first Canadian investment fund manager to offer a publicly-listed Bitcoin investment fund. The Fund seeks to provide its unitholders with (a) exposure to the digital currency Bitcoin and the daily price movements of the U.S. dollar price of Bitcoin, and (b) the opportunity for long-term capital appreciation. The Fund acquires assets from reputable Bitcoin trading platforms and OTC counterparties, in order to provide investors with a convenient and safer alternative to a direct investment in Bitcoin.
- Market Cap: $684.8M
- YTD-Return: +74.1%
- 30-Day Share Price Return: +7.3%
- 30-Day Average Trading Volume: 88,030
- Shares in Float: 8.13M
- Shares Held Short: 0.41M
- % Shares Short: 5.1%
Great Canadian Gaming Corporation (TSX:GC) – $44.00
Gaming
Great Canadian Gaming operates 28 gaming, entertainment, and hospitality facilities throughout Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Washington State. Its facilities include over 16,000 slot machines, 300 table games, 80 dining amenities, and over 500 hotel rooms. The Company is highly committed to its social responsibility initiatives, donating a signification portion of its gross gaming revenues to provincial governments in support of healthcare, education, and social services programs.
- Market Cap: $2,534.6M
- YTD-Return: +1.2%
- 30-Day Share Price Return: +1.9%
- 30-Day Average Trading Volume: 225,840
- Shares in Float: 51.87M
- Shares Held Short: 2.80M
- % Shares Short: 5.4%
Disclosure: Neither the author nor his family own shares in any of the companies mentioned above.
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