This company has been marked as potentially delisted and may not be actively trading. J C Penney (JCP) Short Interest Ratio & Short Volume Add Compare Share Share Short Interest Stock AnalysisBuy This Stock J C Penney Short Interest DataJ C Penney (JCP) has a short interest of 91.29 million shares, representing 30.41% of the float (the number of shares available for trading by the public). This marks a -20.05% decrease in short interest from the previous month. The short interest ratio (days to cover) is 7.3, indicating that it would take 7.3 days of the average trading volume of 19.35 million shares to cover all short positions.Current Short Interest91,290,000 sharesPrevious Short Interest114,180,000 sharesChange Vs. Previous Month-20.05%Dollar Volume Sold Short$21.57 millionShort Interest Ratio7.3 Days to CoverLast Record DateMay 15, 2020Outstanding Shares320,982,000 sharesFloat Size300,240,000 sharesShort Percent of Float30.41%Today's Trading Volume4,354,620 sharesAverage Trading Volume19,345,191 sharesToday's Volume Vs. Average23% Short Selling J C Penney? Sign up to receive the latest short interest report for J C Penney and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE newsletter. Email Address Skip Charts & View Short Interest HistoryShort Interest ChartDays to Cover ChartShort Percent of Float ChartJCP Short Interest Over TimeJCP Days to Cover Over TimeJCP Percentage of Float Shorted Over Time J C Penney Short Interest History Export to ExcelReport DateTotal Shares Sold ShortDollar Volume Sold ShortChange from Previous ReportPercentage of Float ShortedDays to CoverPrice on Report Date 5/15/202091,290,000 shares $21.57 million -20.1%30.4%7.3 $0.24 JCP Short Interest - Frequently Asked Questions What is J C Penney's current short interest? Short interest is the volume of J C Penney shares that have been sold short but have not yet been covered or closed out. As of May 15th, investors have sold 91,290,000 shares of JCP short. 30.41% of J C Penney's shares are currently sold short. Learn More on J C Penney's current short interest. What is a good short interest ratio for J C Penney? 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. JCP shares currently have a short interest ratio of 7.0. Learn More on J C Penney's short interest ratio. What is a good short interest percentage for J C Penney? 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. 30.41% of J C Penney's floating shares are currently sold short. Is J C Penney's short interest increasing or decreasing? J C Penney saw a decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 91,290,000 shares, a decline of 20.0% from the previous total of 114,180,000 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. What is J C Penney's float size? J C Penney currently has issued a total of 320,982,000 shares. Some of J C Penney's 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. J C Penney currently has a public float of 300,240,000 shares. How does J C Penney's short interest compare to its competitors? 30.41% of J C Penney's shares are currently sold short. Here is how the short interest of companies in the sector of "retail/wholesale" compare to J C Penney: Dillard's, Inc. (10.77%), Nordstrom, Inc. (17.18%), Macy's, Inc. (6.87%), Kohl's Co. (48.48%), Burlington Stores, Inc. (4.76%), Brilliant Earth Group, Inc. (0.39%), GEN Restaurant Group, Inc. (9.39%), Newegg Commerce, Inc. (3.00%), Travelzoo (1.81%), Designer Brands Inc. (23.08%), Which stocks are the most shorted right now? As of the most recent reporting period, the following stocks had the largest short interest positions: Charter Communications, Inc. ($4.57 billion), Match Group, Inc. ($3.08 billion), Wayfair Inc. ($2.66 billion), The Clorox Company ($2.52 billion), The Charles Schwab Co. ($2.39 billion), DexCom, Inc. ($2.39 billion), International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. ($1.88 billion), The Kroger Co. ($1.78 billion), Snap Inc. ($1.66 billion), and Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. ($1.63 billion). View all of the most shorted stocks. What does it mean to sell short J C Penney stock? Short selling JCP is an investing strategy that aims to generate trading profit from J C Penney 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. How does a short squeeze work against J C Penney? A short squeeze for J C Penney occurs when it has a large amount of short interest and its stock appreciates in price. This forces short sellers to cover their short interest positions by buying actual shares of JCP, which in turn drives the price of the stock up even further. How often is J C Penney's short interest reported? Short interest is typically published by a stock exchange once per month. However, NASDAQ publishes a report for U.S. stocks, including JCP, twice per month. The most recent reporting period available is May, 15 2020. More Short Interest Resources from MarketBeat Related Companies DDS Short Interest Data JWN Short Interest Data M Short Interest Data KSS Short Interest Data BURL Short Interest Data BRLT Short Interest Data GENK Short Interest Data NEGG Short Interest Data TZOO Short Interest Data DBI Short Interest Data Short Interest Tools Stocks to Short Largest Short Interest Positions Short Interest Increases Short Interest Decreases Short Interest Reporting Dates This page (NYSE:JCP) was last updated on 5/8/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our PartnersAll Signs Point To Collapse - 401(k)s/IRAs /Are DoomedRetiring? Not so Fast..Hold Onto Your Bootstraps For A Long Road AheadAmerican Hartford Gold | SponsoredWhite House to reset Social Security?Elon Musk's parting DOGE gift looks set to shock America... A single announcement by July 22nd could soon b...Altimetry | SponsoredTrump to redistribute trillions of dollars Seeing how the media and other analysts are covering Trump’s actions – it’s laughable. At least it would be la...Porter & Company | SponsoredIs President Trump Lying To You With This?President Trump’s economic transition isn’t without hardship. But what if there were a smart, tax-free way to ...Colonial Metals | SponsoredNew breed of trader (Wall Street hates us?)Wall Street big wigs and old-money bankers can’t touch this 1 type of stock. And that opens the door for tr...Timothy Sykes | Sponsored270x more lucrative than NVIDIA???270x more lucrative than NVIDIA??? If you've missed out on NVIDIA's recent 1,600% run... Don't worry. ...Behind the Markets | SponsoredREVEALED: Elon’s Secret Master Plan “AGENDA X”REVEALED: Elon's Secret Master Plan "AGENDA X" For almost 30 years, Elon worked on his master plan in secre...Brownstone Research | SponsoredGold Hits New Highs as Global Markets SpiralWhen Trump took office in 2017, gold was just $1,100 an ounce. By the time he left, it had soared to $1,839. ...Premier Gold Co | Sponsored Adding Choose a watchlist: Watchlist Adding You have already added five stocks to your watchlist. Upgrade to MarketBeat All Access to add more stocks to your watchlist. Adding J C Penney Company Inc Please log in to your account or sign up in order to add this asset to your watchlist. Share J C Penney With A Colleague Link copied to clipboard. Get 30 Days of MarketBeat All Access for Free Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools. Start Your 30-Day Trial MarketBeat All Access Features Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring Get personalized stock ideas. Compare portfolio to indices. Check stock news, ratings, SEC filings, and more. Stock Ideas and Recommendations See daily stock ideas from top analysts. Receive short-term trading ideas from MarketBeat. Identify trending stocks on social media. Advanced Stock Screeners and Research Tools Use our seven stock screeners to find suitable stocks. Stay informed with MarketBeat's real-time news. Export data to Excel for personal analysis. Sign in to your free account to enjoy these benefits In-depth profiles and analysis for 20,000 public companies. Real-time analyst ratings, insider transactions, earnings data, and more. Our daily ratings and market update email newsletter. Sign in to your free account to enjoy all that MarketBeat has to offer. Sign In Create Account Your Email Address: Email Address Required Your Password: Password Required Log In or Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google Forgot your password? Your Email Address: Please enter your email address. Please enter a valid email address Choose a Password: Please enter your password. Your password must be at least 8 characters long and contain at least 1 number, 1 letter, and 1 special character. Create My Account (Free) or Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google By creating a free account, you agree to our terms of service. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.