The 5 Most Shorted NYSE Stocks in May

Note that the top four 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 was essentially flat in the initial two weeks of the month, and the stock remains at the top of the list. The more than 320.48 million shares short represents 6.2% of the float. It would take about 11 days to cover all short positions. Note that short interest has declined in only one period since last September. The buyout of DirecTV remained in the works, and shares slipped about 2.1% in the two weeks to May 15. The stock closed Wednesday at $34.95, which was up about 4% from the beginning of the year. The 52-week trading range is $32.07 to $37.48.

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There was a 14.3% drop in the short interest in Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE), after rising more than 10% in the previous two periods. The retreat brought the number of shares short to around 213.90 million, which was the lowest level since February. At the current average daily volume, it would take around five days to cover all short positions. Macquarie downgraded Vale‘s shares in May, and they surged almost 30% but then gave up that gain during the two-week short-interest period. They are now down almost 19% year to date. Shares closed most recently at $6.64, in a 52-week range of $5.45 to $14.93.

After a modest gain in the previous period, short interest in Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) decreased 5.9% to more than 142.74 million shares. That ended a five-period streak of rising short interest. That middle of the month figure was 21.7% of the company’s float, and the days to cover dropped to about five. First-quarter results were better than expected, but the share price increased only marginally between the settlement dates. They are down 24.6% year to date and closed at $14.76 on Wednesday. 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 8.6% by mid-month, after falling almost 9% in the previous period. The 121.71 million on May 15 was the lowest level of short interest since mid-March, though the days to cover rose to about four. Petrobras posted lower but better-than-expected first-quarter earnings. Ahead of that, shares increased about 6.6% between the settlement dates, though they have retreated more than that since. The stock ended Wednesday at $8.60, in a 52-week range of $4.90 to $20.94.

Transocean Ltd.’s (NYSE: RIG) short interest retreated 12.2% in the period to almost 93.70 million shares. That was the first time this year the number of shares short was fewer than 100,000, though it still represents 26.8% of the total float. The days to cover increased to more than five. The company posted a positive earnings surprise during the period. The stock ended the two weeks about 17.5% higher. However, it has pulled back more than 4% since, closing at $19.30 on Wednesday. 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), General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) and SunEdison Inc. (NYSE: SUNE). A more than 11% increase in the number of shares short brought Bank of America back into the top 10. Pfizer dropped out of the top 10 as short sellers continued to give up on it.