North American Construction (NOA)

Short positions in renewable energy power generation company Boralex (BLX) have been on a steady rise over the past year and as of the October 15th IIROC short report, it is now one of the 10 most shorted stocks on the TSX with 10.04% of its float shorted. Expensive valuations and lofty debt levels might be the bait that is attracting the sharks. The stock trades at a lofty 15.7 Enterprise Value to EBITDA ratio according to Refinitiv data. It also has relatively high debt levels at 4.1 times equity compared to competitors at just over 1.1 times. The short-selling combined with mixed insider commitment levels yields a bearish setup based on INK signals.

Bearish signals continue to dominate our short report, with eight names having bearish setups in the top ten most-shorted list. Although our signals still point to a potential short squeeze in oil patch names Paramount Resources (POU) and Bonterra Energy (BNE), the oil price is not cooperating. As such, the shorts appear to have the wind at their backs as we head into the home stretch this summer.

While the short positioning in Paramount Resources (Mixed; POU) remains off its peak seen in mid-May, short bets against the stock remain highly elevated. The stock has recently pulled back from a rally off its June lows and short sellers seem generally content to hold on to their bets for a stock breakdown.

A notable change in our Top 10 most shorted list this week is the disappearance of Stingray Group (Mixed; RAY) due to an increase in the stock's estimated float. That paved the way for Laurentian Bank (Mixed: LB) which takes the 10th spot. Based on our signals, the shorts may be on to something there. In terms of signals, Cargojet (Mixed; CJT) has flipped back to a bearish setup.

As we head into summer there is very little change to our Top 10 most shorted stocks list. Bonterra Energy (Mostly Sunny; BNE) returns to our Top 10 list after having slipped off it in the mid-June edition. It takes the place of Automotive Properties REIT (Cloudy; APR.UN) which saw its short position drop after it completed an $84 million equity financing deal on June 28th.

Meanwhile, our signals for Cargojet (MIxed; CJT) suggest it has the potential for a short-squeeze situation whereas in our last report the reading was bearish. Heading in the other direction is Chesswood Group (Mixed; CHW) which suggested a short-squeeze situation last time, but now reads as bearish.

Short sellers reduced their exposure to Paramount Resources in the first half of June as the stock put in new year-to-date lows. Nevertheless, that still left the stock as one of the most shorted as a percentage of its float in Canada. Jumping to the top of Top 10 table based on IIROC data as of June 15th is tightly controlled Stingray Group which has a relatively small estimated float. As such, we would be reluctant to read too much into the short positioning in that stock.

The other new arrival in the Top 10 is Automotive Property REIT which announced on June 12th a 7 million unit offering priced at $10.45 per unit in conjunction with a dealership property deal.

Shorts continue to press their bets against Paramount Resources (POU) and High Liner Foods (HLF) which remain the two top favourite short targets in Canada based on the May 31st IIROC short report released today. Although short positions fell as a percentage of float in both names since the May 15th IIROC short report, the reductions were not enough to move the two stocks down the list of the most shorted names in Canada.

With most Q1 earnings reports out of the way, short sellers are sticking with their favourite targets. Bonterra Energy (BNE) is the only new name on our ten most shorted stock list (as a % of float), replacing Laurentian Bank (LB) which is now the 11th most shorted stock. The top two spots continue to be held by Paramount Resources (POU) and High Liner Foods (HLF).