We recently published a list of 20 Underperforming Stocks Targeted By Short Sellers. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) stands against other underperforming stocks targeted by short sellers.

Short interest refers to the percentage of publicly available shares that have been sold short. It is an indicator used by many investors to determine how strong a company’s bear thesis may be. Due to the nature of short selling, the short interest has become a popular indicator among investors.

The reason it is given so much weightage is that people betting against a stock have usually done solid research and are confident of a company’s downfall. They take unlimited risk, so when big investors or the smart money shorts a stock, people take notice. They try to unearth the red flags that may have prompted the high short interest.

We decided to dig deeper and try to find out where smart money sees trouble ahead. To come up with our list of 20 underperforming stocks targeted by short sellers, we looked at the worst-performing stocks of the last six months and then ranked them by the short interest.Is Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NOG) the Underperforming Stock Targeted By Short Sellers?

An aerial view of an oil and gas platform in the middle of the ocean, representing the massive resources harvested by the company.

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG)

Short interest: 19.88%

6 months’ performance: -33.9%

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) operates as an independent energy company. The company acquires, develops, explores, exploits, and produces natural gas and crude oil properties. The company’s stock is down 36.28% in the last 6 months, with a short interest of 19.88%.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) has just announced its Q1 earnings, reporting production of 135,000 BOW per day. Gas production, which comprises 42% of the total production mix, grew 14% YoY and 6.5% QoQ. The firm expects 2025 CepEx to be between $1.05 billion and $1.2 billion, with a vast majority of this amount reserved for maintenance expenditures.

CEO Nick O’Grady has previously emphasized Northern’s focus on long-term growth by saying:

The company’s strategy to prioritize long-term growth over short-term metrics, explaining a shift in the Uinta program to implement larger, optimally spaced 3-mile laterals, which will push volumes later into the year but improve capital efficiency.

Overall, NOG ranks 3rd on our list of underperforming stocks targeted by short sellers. While we acknowledge the potential of NOG as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NOG but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.