Southern First Bancshares sees spike in short interest

Short positions on the bank's stock grew nearly 34% in February

Mar. 15, 2026 at 10:37am

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Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST), a community bank headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, saw a significant increase in short interest on its stock in February. As of February 27th, short positions totaled 81,851 shares, up 33.9% from the previous two-week period. This represents about 1.1% of the company's outstanding shares.

Why it matters

The rise in short interest on Southern First Bancshares' stock could signal that some investors are betting against the bank's performance. Short selling activity can provide insights into market sentiment and potential future stock price movements.

The details

According to the report, the increase in short positions was based on an average daily trading volume of 68,835 shares, resulting in a short interest ratio of 1.2 days. This means it would take short sellers just over a day to cover their positions based on the stock's typical daily trading volume.

  • As of February 27th, 2026, short interest totaled 81,851 shares.
  • This represents a 33.9% increase from the February 12th total of 61,136 shares.

The players

Southern First Bancshares, Inc.

A community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina that provides commercial and consumer banking services.

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The takeaway

The spike in short interest on Southern First Bancshares' stock could signal that some investors are bearish on the bank's prospects, though more information would be needed to determine the specific reasons behind the increased short selling activity.