Shares Update I Lannett stock up 40% with no news released; short interest stands at 74% of float

Sarah Toy

2-3 minutes

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Shares of generic-drug manufacturer Lannett Company Inc. LCI, +41.97% shot up 40% in Monday afternoon trade. The company has not released any news that would account for the stock move, a spokesman for the company said. However, Lannet stock's short interest stood at at 20.66 million shares at the end of June, equal to 74.3% of the company's public float of 27.8 million shares. Ihor Dusaniwsky,managing director for predictive analytics at S3 Partners, a company that tracks short interest, said the move was not caused by a short squeeze, although it could trigger one if the stock keeps rallying. Short positions were down about $128,000 year-to-date, through Friday. "Shorts have taken a good stomach punch today, they're down $46.2 million," he said. "They are definitely a candidate for a short squeeze after today." Shares of Lannett have gained 67.9% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX, +0.29% has gained 19.2%.

Source: MarketWatch