Short Sellers Take Mixed Stance on Big Oil

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 12, 1:35PM EST · Published Mar 27, 9:05AM EDT

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Short Sellers Take Mixed Stance on Big Oil — © Thinkstock

[cnxvideo id=”655423″ placement=”ros”]Since Trump has taken the White House, crude oil had traded above $50 a barrel until early March. This level was once thought as a support level, but after crude dropped by over 5%, more has been called into question. Former Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson is also Secretary of State, which could prove to be beneficial for the oil industry. Considering this, short interest for major oil stocks is now more important than ever to follow.

Although the current crude price is still this is less than half of what it was in 2014, the prospects for this industry are promising.

The March 15 short interest data have been compared with the previous figures, and short interest moves for the selected oil stocks were mixed.

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Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) saw its short interest increase to 24.01 million shares from the previous reading of 22.51 million. The shares were last seen at $107.99, in a 52-week trading range of $92.43 to $119.00.

Short interest in Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) decreased to 28.84 million shares from the previous 31.14 million. The stock was trading at $81.23, within a 52-week range of $80.31 to $95.55.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) short interest decreased to 14.09 million shares from the previous reading of 15.12 million. Shares were recently at $33.78, in a 52-week range of $28.67 to $38.68.

The number of ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) shares short increased to 15.87 million from the previous level of 13.22 million. Shares were trading at $44.10, within a 52-week range of $38.19 to $53.17.

Short interest at Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), or Petrobras, decreased to 42.63 million shares from the previous 43.53 million. The stock traded at $9.06 a share, in a 52-week range of $5.19 to $12.56. 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 16.11 million shares from the previous reading of 15.70 million. Shares were recently at $62.83, in a 52-week range of $61.01 to $78.48.

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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.