At the top of the list as of the August 14 settlement date was Brazilian miner Vale. It and Petrobras saw modest declines in the number of shares short since the July 31 settlement date. On the other hand, short sellers continued to move on Sprint, as they have done since April.
Note that the top six most shorted NYSE stocks all had more than 120,000 shares short at the end of the most recent two-week settlement period.
There was about a 2% fall in the number of Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) shares short, which wiped out a similar rise in the previous period. The mid-August reading was around 211.46 million shares, but that was down from a year-to-date peak of nearly 250,000 back in April. At the current average daily volume, it would take around seven days to cover all short positions. A second-quarter earnings beat failed to impress investors. Vale shares climbed more than 8% in the two-week short-interest period but then gave up all of that gain. The stock closed most recently at $4.29, in a 52-week trading range of $4.13 to $13.81.
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After rising since the end of May, short interest in Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) added another 2.9% to more than 207.24 million shares earlier this month. That was 31.6% of the company’s float, and the days to cover slipped to about seven. Revenue was better than expected in the most recent quarter, but the share price dropped almost 15% between the settlement dates, while the S&P 500 was essentially flat. Shares have recovered a little since and closed at $8.21 on Tuesday. The 52-week high of $27.24 was reached almost a year ago, and the $6.01 low was seen this week.
Sprint Corp.’s (NYSE: S) short interest grew 14.2% to more than 145.44 million shares in the first two weeks of the month. That was 20.0% of the float and the largest number of shares short in the past year. The days to cover dropped to about three. Softbank increased its stake in Sprint in August, and short sellers watched the share price rise about 25% in the two-week period. Shares closed at $4.60 Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $3.10 to $7.15. The stock is up almost 11% year to date.
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), better known as Petrobras, saw the number of its shares short retreat 4.0% in the two weeks to more than 133.97 million. The days to cover was still about four. The year-to-date peak short interest of around 146,000 shares was reached in April. The latest earnings report was a bit of a head-scratcher. Shares pulled back almost 12% in the period, and another 17% since. The stock closed most recently at $4.98, down more than 31% year to date. In the past year, shares have traded between $4.68 and $20.94.
The number of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) shares short swelled to around 123.47 million from around 117.72 million in the period, or to 34.0% of the total float. That was the sixth period in a row of rising short interest. The days to cover was about seven. Jefferies upgraded Transocean in early August. Shares ended the two weeks about 3% higher, though they were up more than 13% at one point. They have pulled back more than 11% more since, closing at $12.20 on Tuesday. Shares have traded between $11.81 and $38.87 in the past 52 weeks.
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The number of AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) shares short dwindled in the initial weeks of the month from around 130.96 million to more than 121.91 million. That was about 2.0% of the float, as well as the lowest level of short interest in more than a year. It would take about four days to cover all short positions, down from more than 10 days a month earlier. Analysts saw big upside in the stock during the period, but shares were about 2% lower by the middle of the month. The stock closed most recently at $31.80, which was more than 5% lower than at the beginning of the year. The 52-week trading range is $30.97 to $36.45.
Rounding out the top 10 were J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP), Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE: BTU), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). While SunEdison Inc. (NYSE: SUNE) had a surge in its shares short during the first weeks of the month, it fell short of climbing into the top 10.
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