Energy

Major Oil Stocks See Rising Tide in Short Interest

Chris Lange

Published: August 27, 2018 7:35 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 6:47 pm

Crude oil was trading over $68 a barrel late on Friday. Over the past month, crude has been up and down, reaching as high as about $73 and as low as $65, but the current crude price still pales in comparison to what it was in 2014.

The August 15 short interest data have been compared with the previous figures, and short interest in most of these selected big oil stocks increased.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) saw its short interest decrease to 17.19 million shares from the previous reading of 17.94 million. The shares were last seen trading at $119.01, in a 52-week range of $107.04 to $133.88.

Short interest in Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) decreased to 27.37 million shares from the previous level of 30.95 million. The stock traded at $79.62, within a 52-week range of $72.16 to $89.30.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) short interest increased to 4.49 million shares from the previous 4.15 million. Shares traded at $43.42, in a 52-week range of $34.21 to $47.83.

The number of ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) shares short rose to 12.60 million from the previous 12.37 million. Shares were trading at $72.61, within a 52-week range of $42.42 to $73.76.

Short interest at Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), or Petrobras, increased to 43.43 million shares from the previous 42.90 million. The stock traded at $10.31 a share, in a 52-week range of $8.67 to $17.20. Unfortunately, Petrobras may be trading on an entirely different set of fundamentals and sentiment due to its ongoing woes in Brazil.

Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s (NYSE: OXY) short interest increased to 8.97 million shares from the previous reading of 7.33 million. Shares recently traded at $79.34, in a 52-week range of $58.69 to $87.67.