Apple Short Interest Dips Again

By Trey Thoelcke Updated Jan 13, 1:23PM EST · Published Feb 10, 7:00AM EST

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Apple Short Interest Dips Again — © Wikimedia Commons (JoelnQueens)

The short interest in Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock fell 3.7% in the latter weeks of last month to 63.5 million shares. That was for the period that ended January 29, and it left Apple in the number eight spot among all Nasdaq-traded companies.

Apple’s most recent earnings report, posted earlier in the month, showed a flattening of iPhone sales and only modest improvement in revenue:

Apple announced financial results for its fiscal 2016 first quarter ended December 26, 2015. The Company posted record quarterly revenue of $75.9 billion and record quarterly net income of $18.4 billion, or $3.28 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $74.6 billion and net income of $18 billion, or $3.06 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 40.1 percent compared to 39.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 66 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

iPhone sales were 74.8 million, just below an anticipated 75 million. Apple also forecast lower revenues for the current fiscal quarter, giving investors more to worry about and sending Apple’s share price lower.

While some investors have started to worry that Apple is now almost entirely about its iPhone refresh cycles, Merrill Lynch is positive on that score, citing also continued strength in China and optionality in Apple’s massive cash balance. The firm even sees promise in the Apple Watch, Apple TV and other services.
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As Apple’s share of the U.S. smartphone subscriber market continues to slide, one way the company hopes to boost sales of new iPhones is by beginning to accept trade-ins even if the display screen is cracked, the camera doesn’t work or the buttons don’t function.

Investors short Apple’s stock have benefited from its share price, which is off 19% over the past three months to $94.99. Its shares were up 150% over five years by mid-2015, which shows how much the stock has been punished.

About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.