AT&T continued to reign as the most shorted stock trading on the New York Stock Exchange between the May 15 and May 29 settlement dates. In addition, after shying away in the previous two periods, short sellers found renewed interest in Petrobras in the final weeks of the month.
Note that all the top five most shorted NYSE stocks 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 dwindled marginally in the latter weeks of the month, but the stock remains at the top of the list. The more than 318.48 million shares short represent 6.1% of the float. It would take about nine days to cover all short positions. Note that this is only the second time short interest has declined since last September. The buyout of DirecTV remains in the works, and shares rose about 2% in late May 29. The stock closed Tuesday at $34.51, which was up less than 3% from the beginning of the year. The 52-week trading range is $32.07 to $37.48.
There was a 2.1% drop in the short interest in Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE), after falling more than 14% in the previous period. The retreat brought the number of shares short to around 209.39 million, which was the lowest level since February. At the current average daily volume, it would take around six days to cover all short positions. Vale’s shares pulled back more than 8% during the two-week short-interest period. They are now down more than 21% year to date. Shares closed most recently at $6.43, in a 52-week range of $5.45 to $14.93.
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For the second period in a row, short interest in Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) decreased modestly, down 2.9% to more than 138.54 million shares at the end of May. That was 21.1% of the company’s float, and the days to cover grew to about eight. Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock in May, and the share price decreased more than 4% between the settlement dates, and around 10% since. The stock closed at $13.22 on Tuesday. Shares have traded between $12.89 and $29.92 in the past year.
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), better known as Petrobras, saw the number of its shares short jump 12.2% in the two weeks to more than 136.51 million. That was the second highest level of short interest in the past year. The days to cover remained around four. Petrobras increased its debt burden during the period, and shares dropped about 11% between the settlement dates. The stock ended Tuesday at $9.05, up about 24% year to date. In the past year, shares have traded between $4.90 and $20.94.
J.C. Penney Co. Inc.’s (NYSE: JCP) short interest swelled more than 7% to around 100.51 million in the latter weeks of the month. That was 33.5% of the float, and the first time this year shares short topped the 100 million mark. The days to cover increased from less than five to about eight. The most recent quarterly numbers were solid but failed to impress investors. Yet, the share price rose more than 4% in the two-week period. Shares closed Tuesday at $8.46, or up more than 30% since the beginning of the year. The share price has ranged between $5.90 and $11.30 in the past year.
Transocean Ltd.’s (NYSE: RIG) short interest gained 3.0% in the period to almost 96.54 million shares. That took back some of the more than 12% drop in the previous period. Note that the number of shares short at the end of May represents 27.6% of the total float. The days to cover increased to more than nine. The positive earnings surprise earlier in the month did not have traction, as the stock ended the two weeks almost 6% lower. However, it has recovered a bit since, closing at $18.74 on Tuesday. Shares have traded between $13.28 and $46.12 in the past 52 weeks.
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Rounding out the top 10 were AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV), Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S). The big mover among these was AbbVie, with the number of shares short more than tripling during the two weeks. Short interest in the other three grew modestly.
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