Energy

Major Oil Sees Short Interest Back Off

Chris Lange

Published: August 10, 2016 9:15 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 4:44 am

The short interest data have been released for the July 29 settlement date. With oil prices seemingly on the slow path to recovery and the Dow and S&P 500 hitting new highs, short interest is now more important than ever to follow. Although crude oil prices have backed off slightly as of late, these major oil companies have responded in kind.

The July 29 short interest data have been compared with the previous figures, and short interest for most of the selected oil stocks was down.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) saw its short interest decrease to 33.23 million shares from the previous reading of 35.59 million. Its shares closed Tuesday at $101.32, in a 52-week trading range of $69.58 to $107.58.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) had short interest that fell to 45.40 million shares from the previous 52.46 million. Shares closed Tuesday at $88.70, within a 52-week range of $66.55 to $95.55.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) short interest decreased to 19.32 million shares from its previous reading of 23.56 million. Shares closed Tuesday at $33.38, in a 52-week range of $27.01 to $37.53.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) saw the number of its shares short increase to 17.41 million from the previous level of 15.60 million. Shares closed Tuesday at $41.24, within a 52-week range of $31.05 to $57.24.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), or Petrobras, saw its short interest decrease to 94.44 million shares from the previous 97.87 million. Shares closed Tuesday at $8.70, in a 52-week trading range of $2.71 to $8.85. 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 decreased only slightly to 14.70 million shares from the previous reading of 14.78 million. Shares closed most recently at $73.68, in a 52-week trading range of $58.24 to $78.31.