The 5 Most Shorted NYSE Stocks in April

While the five most shorted stocks trading on the New York Stock Exchange remained the same between the April 15 and April 30 settlement dates, note that the number of Vale shares short rose by a double-digit percentage. On the other hand, short sellers appeared to be getting out of the way of Petrobras.

All of the top five had more than 100,000 shares short at the end of the most recent two-week settlement period.

The number of AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) shares short increased marginally in the latter two weeks of the month, and the stock remains at the top of the list. The more than 320.04 million shares short represent 6.2% of the float. It would take about nine days to cover all short positions. Note that short interest has declined in only one period since last September. The company recently posted solid first-quarter results, and shares rose about 6.4% in the two weeks to April 30. The stock closed Friday at $33.49, which is down slightly from the beginning of the year. The 52-week trading range is $32.07 to $37.48.

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There was a 5.1% gain in the short interest in Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE), on top of a rise of about 5% in the previous period. That brought the number of shares short to more than 249.45 million on April 30, which was the highest level in the past year. It was also 7.8% of the float. At the current average daily volume, it would take around five days to cover all short positions. JPMorgan downgraded Vale’s shares in April, and they surged about 38% but then retreated about 19% during the two-week short-interest period. They are now down more than 6% year-to-date. Shares closed most recently at $7.66, in a 52-week range of $5.45 to $14.93.

After a gain of more than 8% in the previous period, short interest in Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) rose another 3.0% to almost 151.62 million shares, more than double the number of shares short back in February. That end of the month figure was 23.1% of the company’s float, and the days to cover rose to about seven. The stock was a poor performer in the first quarter, though the share price decreased only about 1% between the settlement dates. They are down more than 22% year to date and closed at $15.18 on Monday. Shares have traded between $13.38 and $29.92 in the past year.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), better known as Petrobras, saw the number of its shares short dwindle 8.8% by the end of month. That 133.223 million was still the second highest level of short interest in the past year, though the days to cover dropped to less than two. Petrobras released its delayed fourth-quarter results during the period. Shares increased about 12.1% between the settlement dates, as well as around 3% since. The stock ended Monday at $9.63, in a 52-week range of $4.90 to $20.94.

Transocean Ltd.’s (NYSE: RIG) short interest retreated 3.6% in the period to more than 106.72 shares. That was the lowest level of short interest this year, though it represents 30.5% of the total float. The days to cover dropped to less than nine. The company posted a positive earnings surprise, but only after the end of the period. The stock ended the two weeks down only fractionally. However, it has risen more than 11% since, closing at $19.57 on Monday. Shares have traded between $13.28 and $46.12 in the past year.

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Rounding out the top 10 were J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP). Of these, Ford saw a surge in short interest, pushing it into the top 10, while short sellers continued to flee from Pfizer.