New York Times Short Interest High, Faith In Online Plan May Be Fraying

Shares sold short in The New York Times Company (NYT) were just below 16 million against daily trading volume in the company's "A" share of 1.158 million. That means that the number of trading days to cover the short position is fourteen, one of the highest levels of any company trading on The New York Stock Exchange.

NYT shares trade at $22, down from $47 in June 2004. It is a decline shares by many newspaper groups. But, due to its large online audience, Wall St. has hoped that the company could fill in the hole created by falling print revenue with income from its websites. The company had 47.2 million unique visitors in July. Based on current revenue estimates, the NYT online properties should do over $350 million in revenue this year.

But July numbers show that online revenue growth is slowing. PaidContent.org wrote "Internet ad growth for the NYT News Media group was down sequentially--19.3% for July compared with 22% in June. In comparison, in July '06, internet ad revenue was up 27.5%."

The online business at NYT is all most investors have to hang onto. And it does not appear that it can bear much more weight.

Originally Posted at 24/7 Wall Street.

Comments

[blueshift]

If the NYT stopped acting as faithful stenographers for this administration, and resurrected a journalistic imperative, they might actually sell papers - and drive more web traffic, too. Would the current paper print the Pentagon Papers? No chance. They wouldn't even look. Though privately owned, they've become part of the entertainment complex like all the others. You won't find much in the Times that's important anymore -- and what there is, you already read two days ago on Huffpo, Raw Story, TPM and other places that have filled the void (abyss) abandoned by the Times.

[larry278]

A faithful stenographer wouldn't make as many typos as the NYT does when it constantly repeats W & co's hoary line.

[andyg]

i read that the online profits for the NYT, wouldn't cover the cost of running the entire paper. If the price keeps on dropping if will become a target to brought out as Sulzburger and rest of owners can't continue to drop money into the paper forver, as they will run dry. And they they will have to sell off part of the NYT group to keep the main paper running.

[larry278]

This could change Mr Murdoch's plans for competing with NYT. The Sulzburgers & NYT appear to be locked into a pattern of self-destruction. It's difficult to destroy something which has reduced itself into dust when the winds of change are blowing the dust into all directions with the force of a category five hurricane.