Major Oil Short Sellers Become More Selective

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 12:44PM EST · Published Feb 25, 8:05AM EST

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Major Oil Short Sellers Become More Selective — © Thinkstock

The short interest data have been released for the February 12 settlement date. With oil prices slumping and global markets showing signs of weakness, short interest is now more important than ever to follow.

The February 12 short interest data have been compared with the previous figures, and short interest for the selected stocks is mixed.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) saw its short interest increase to 27.46 million shares from the previous reading of 26.34 million. Shares closed Wednesday at $85.27, in a 52-week trading range of $69.58 to $112.20.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) saw its short interest rise to 55.71 million shares from the previous level of 52.11 million. Shares closed Wednesday at $81.52, within a 52-week range of $66.55 to $90.09.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) short interest increased to 8.77 million shares from its previous reading of 7.58 million. Shares closed Wednesday at $28.54, in a 52-week range of $27.01 to $43.85.
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ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) saw the number of its shares short decrease to 37.35 million from the previous level of 43.94 million. Shares closed Wednesday at $32.96, within a 52-week range of $31.05 to $69.72.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), or Petrobras, saw its short interest decrease slightly to 151.84 million shares from the previous 191.18 million. Shares closed Wednesday at $3.50, in a 52-week trading range of $2.71 to $10.55. Unfortunately, Petrobras may be trading on an entirely different set of fundamentals and sentiment due to its woes in Brazil.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) short interest fell to 14.74 million shares from the previous reading of 15.71 million. Shares closed most recently at $69.44, in a 52-week trading range of $58.24 to $82.06.

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.