Basic Energy Services (BAS) Short Interest Ratio & Short Volume

Short interest is the volume of Basic Energy Services shares that have been sold short but have not yet been closed out or covered. As of November 15th, investors have sold 2,650,000 shares of BAS short. 11.64% of Basic Energy Services' shares are currently sold short. Learn More on Basic Energy Services' current short interest.

The short interest ratio, also known as the "days to cover ratio", is calculated by dividing the number of shares of a stock sold short divided by its average trading volume. A short interest ratio ranging between 1 and 4 generally indicates strong positive sentiment about a stock and a lack of short sellers. A short interest ratio of 10 or greater indicates strong pessimism about a stock. BAS shares currently have a short interest ratio of 5.0. Learn More on Basic Energy Services's short interest ratio.

Companies that have a short interest as a percentage of float below 10% indicates positive investor sentiment and few short sellers. Stocks with a short interest percentage above 10% is considered high, suggesting some investors are pessimistic about the stock. Companies with a short interest percentage of 20% or more indicates widespread negative sentiment. 11.64% of Basic Energy Services' floating shares are currently sold short.

Basic Energy Services saw a drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,650,000 shares, a drop of 14.5% from the previous total of 3,100,000 shares. Changes in short volume can be used to identify positive and negative investor sentiment. Investors that short sell a stock are betting that its price will decline in the future. An increase in short sale volume suggests bearish (negative) sentiment among investors. A decrease on short sale volume suggests bullish (positive) sentiment.

Basic Energy Services currently has issued a total of 24,947,000 shares. Some of Basic Energy Services' outstanding shares are available for trading, while others are subject to various restrictions. The public float, also referred to as floating shares or "the float", are shares that publicly owned, unrestricted and available to trade on the open market. Basic Energy Services currently has a public float of 22,770,000 shares.

11.64% of Basic Energy Services' shares are currently sold short. Here is how the short interest of companies compare to Basic Energy Services: Dawson Geophysical Company (0.62%), Schlumberger Limited (4.85%), Halliburton Company (4.29%), TechnipFMC plc (2.34%), NOV Inc. (7.41%), Tidewater Inc. (11.42%), Oceaneering International, Inc. (3.95%), RPC, Inc. (17.84%), Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (4.15%), Tetra Technologies, Inc. (5.80%),

As of the most recent reporting period, the following stocks had the largest short interest positions: Ringcentral, Inc. ($862.50 million), Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ($637.88 million), Immunomedics, Inc. ($530.84 million), Viacom, Inc. ($466.41 million), Glaukos Corporation ($461.75 million), QTS Realty Trust, Inc. ($419.87 million), Smartsheet Inc ($418.21 million), Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ($393.42 million), Premier, Inc. ($342.60 million), and ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. ($280.25 million). View all of the most shorted stocks.

Short selling BAS is an investing strategy that aims to generate trading profit from Basic Energy Services as its price is falling. To short a stock, an investor borrows shares, sells them and buys the shares back on the public market later to return it to the lender. Short sellers are betting that a stock will decline in price. If the stock does drop after selling, the short seller buys it back at a lower price and returns it to the lender. The difference between the sell price and the buy price is the trader's profit.

A short squeeze for Basic Energy Services occurs when it has a large amount of short interest and its stock increases in price. This forces short sellers to cover their short interest positions by buying actual shares of BAS, which in turn drives the price of the stock up even further.

Short interest is typically published by a stock exchange once per month. However, NASDAQ publishes a report for U.S. stocks, including BAS, twice per month. The most recent reporting period available is November, 15 2019.