Shares of Cosmos (NASDAQ:COSM) are up by more than 700% this month. Investors have attributed this astounding price action in COSM stock to a short squeeze, as the company has not released any news to cause gains this significant. Cosmos operates as an international healthcare group with three subsidiaries: Sky Pharm, Decahedron and Cosmofarm Pharmaceuticals. The three businesses engage in selling and distributing medicine and vitamins.
As of Nov. 15, there were a total of 6.52 million shares of COSM stock sold short. Yahoo! Finance reports the float is 58.53 million shares, which would mean short interest as a percentage of float was 11.13%. That figure is significant enough to drive a short squeeze.
Last week, the company announced inflight magazine Ronda would feature its Sky Premium Life luxury food supplement for sale. Ronda is available at no cost on Iberian Airlines, which boasts more than 10 million yearly customers and 600 daily flights.
Meanwhile, CEO Grigorios Siokas has acquired millions of shares in the past few months. On Oct. 20, he purchased 12.5 million shares priced at 12 cents each as part of a securities purchase agreement established on Oct. 17. Then, on Nov. 28, the CEO converted 498 shares of Series A convertible preferred stock into 801,261 shares of common stock priced at 62 cents.
5 Investors Betting Big on COSM Stock
Tracking institutional ownership is important, as these large investors provide liquidity and support for stocks. During Q3, only 10 13F filers reported owning COSM, an increase of 3 filers from the previous quarter. Five filers reported new positions, while two filers completely closed out their positions. Meanwhile, Whale Wisdom reports that no 13F filer owns options against COSM. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top shareholders of the company:
- Grigorios Siokas: 52.06 million shares. Siokas acquired 40.15 million shares during Q3.
- Athanasios Kolefas: 15.56 million shares. Kolefas acquired his entire stake during Q3.
- Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS): 56,179 shares. Morgan Stanley’s position remained unchanged during Q3.
- Virtu Financial: 46,146 shares. Virtu sold 41,823 shares during Q3.
- UBS Group (NYSE:UBS): 30,552 shares. UBS purchased 30,552 shares during Q3.
Other, smaller shareholders of the company include acclaimed hedge fund Millennium Management with ownership of 18,434 shares and Tower Research Capital with 21,600 shares.
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On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
