Some Actively Traded Stocks See Jump in Short Interest (GE, NOK, BAC, VZ, ANR, MCD, AAPL, RIMM, MSFT, DELL, GMCR, CSCO)

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) short interest rose 29.4% to 73.27 million shares. About 0.7% of GE’s float is now short.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) saw short interest rise by 8.8% to 340.12 million shares, about 8.8% of the company’s total float.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) short interest fell 8.4% to 150.49 million shares, which represents 1.4% of the company’s float.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) saw a 5.8% decline in short interest to 45.32 million shares, which represents about 1.6% of the firm’s float.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) showed a drop of 6.4% in short interest, to 31.99 million shares, about 14.7% of Alpha’s float.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) showed a rise of 6.3% in short interest, to 12.37 million shares, about 1.2% of the company’s float.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) saw a short interest increase of 6.5% to 18.86 million shares, or 2% of the company’s float.

Research In Motion — now BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) — saw short interest fall by 4.2% to 129.49 million shares, or 27.7% of the total float. The company’s changed its name on January 30.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) posted a 7.4% rise in short interest, to 80.09 million shares, about 1.1% of Microsoft’s float.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) short interest fell by 28.4% to 41.1 million shares, or about 2.8% of the company’s float.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) saw short interest fall by 12.6% to 27.12 million shares, or 22.3% of the company’s float.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) saw short interest fall by 2.5% to 56.8 million shares. That is about 1.1% of the company’s float.

BlackBerry remains the most heavily shorted of these active stocks, name change notwithstanding. Dell’s short interest fell dramatically in the days leading up to the buyout offer from Michael Dell and his partners. GE’s rise in short interest is likely due to investors’ belief that the company will not repeat its strong fourth-quarter showing. Finally, McDonald’s has been having trouble meeting expectations for monthly sales, and shorts are taking advantage of that.