Short Sellers Back Way Off Major Banks

Banking, finance, and taxes

Published: March 12, 2018 10:05 am

The financial sector was a major part of the Great Recession, and it has been a major part of the recovery and raging bull market since then. Generally speaking, the major financial institutions in the United States are a good barometer of the current state of U.S. markets.

So when short sellers make a play against these major banks, they are effectively betting for a downturn. Conversely, when they back off they might be expecting a surge. Granted, some plays are directly against individual companies, like we saw with Wells Fargo early in 2017.

The February 28 short interest data have been compared with the previous figures, and short interest in most of these selected bank stocks decreased.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) saw its short interest fall to 128.70 million shares. The previous level was 140.76 million. Shares were last seen trading at $32.95, in a 52-week range of $22.07 to $33.05.

The number of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) shares short rose to 31.38 million from the previous level of 30.45 million. Shares recently traded at $118.44, in a 52-week range of $81.64 to $119.33.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) short interest decreased to 22.04 million from the previous level of 25.38 million. Shares were trading at $76.39, in a 52-week range of $56.55 to $80.70.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) short interest shrank to 37.52 million shares from the previous reading of 39.78 million. Shares were trading at $58.47, within a 52-week range of $49.27 to $66.31.

Short interest in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) increased to 5.08 million shares from the previous 4.93 million. The stock recently traded at $274.79, within a 52-week range of $209.62 to $273.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) short interest for this settlement date decreased only slightly to 12.26 million shares from the previous 12.28 million. Shares were changing hands at $58.91, in a 52-week range of $40.06 to $58.94.

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