Following is the short interest in stocks of major companies traded on the NYSE. Figures are as of October 15 and compare to numbers on September 28, 2007. Most of the large increases and total short positions were in home builders, mortgage companies, and retailers.
Major telecom companies saw share sold short fall.
Largest Short Positions
Company Shares Sold Short
Ford (F) 171.8 million shares short
Countrywide (CFC) 79.8 million
Qwest (Q) 78.3 million
AMD (AMD) 75.9 million
Time Warner (TWX) 69.9 million
Best Buy (BBY) 64.9 million
EMC (EMC) 64.0 million
GE (GE) 62.3 million
Washington Mutual (WM) 59.2 million
GM (GM) 56.2 million
Micron (MU) 54.4 million
Home Depot (HD) 54.2 million
Altria (MO) 52.4 million
Sprint (S) 51.3 million
Largest Increases In Short Position
Company Increase In Shares Sold Short
Washington Mutual 12.5 million increase
EMC (EMC) 11.2 million
Target (TGT) 5.7 million
Pulte (PHM) 5.4 million
Beazer (BZH) 5.2 million
Time Warner 5.0 million
Largest Decreases In Short Position
Company Decrease In Shares Sold Short
Wells Fargo (WFC) 9.2 million decrease in shares short
Wachovia (WB) 8.4 million
McDonald’s (MCD) 6.6 million
AT&T (T) 6.1 million
Qwest (Q) 6.1 million
Ford (F) 5.8 million
Pfizer (PFE) 4.5 million
Kraft (KFT) 4.4 million
Merrill Lynch (MER) 3.8 million
GE (GE) 3.6 million
Data from NYSE and WSJ
Douglas A. McIntyre