The latest Wall Street Journal short interest data shows a massive surge in the number of Procter & Gamble shares sold short: more than 250%! That would make it easily the most shorted stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange between the September 15 and September 30 settlement dates.

That move dwarfed a double-digit percentage rise in GE’s short interest during those same two weeks. The swings in the other most shorted NYSE stocks were mixed but mild.

Note that all the top six stocks on the list had more than 120 million shares short at the end of the most recent settlement period.

Procter & Gamble

For the second consecutive period, the number of shares short in Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) have surged — most recently by over 258% to more than 291.39 million. So 10.9% of its float was sold short after the final two weeks of the month. Note that short interest was just about 3% of float in the previous period, and about 1% or less for most of the year. Now it would take about five days to cover all short positions.

The company remains a dividend aristocrat, and short sellers watched the shares rise about 2% in the short interest period. The S&P 500 gained only about 1% in that time. The stock closed most recently at $88.54 per share. That is up more than 11% year to date. The 52-week low is $73.50, while the 52-week high is $90.33.

Sprint

After staying essentially flat for two periods in a row, short interest in Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) jumped more than 8% between the most recent settlement dates. The approximately 167.50 million shares short reported totaled 26.4% of the float. The days to cover rose from around six to more than nine as the daily average volume shrank in the latter weeks of the month.

24/7 Wall St. took a look at Sprint’s sky-high valuation last month. The share price ended the short interest period more than 2% below where it began it, though it was down more than 9% at one point. The shares are still up more than 87% year to date and closed most recently at $6.78. The stock hit a 52-week high of $7.03 last month, well up from the 52-week low of $2.18 early in the year.

Ford

The short interest in Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) pulled back less than 2% for the second straight period, bringing the number of its shares short to more than 147.68 million by the end of the month. That represented 3.8% of the total float, down from a high of about 4.4% in mid-March. It would take about five days to cover all short positions.

Ford sales were not as bad as expected in September. But the share price slipped fractionally in the two weeks, while the S&P 500 rose about 1%. Ford shares have changed hands between $11.02 and $15.84 apiece in the past year. They were trading at $11.99 on Tuesday’s close, which is up more than 4% year to date.

GE

In contrast to the retreat by more than double-digit percentages in the July and early August periods from the highest level year to date, the short interest in General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) surged again most recently, landing at nearly 146.64 million shares by the end of September. That was 1.6% of the iconic conglomerate’s float, and it would take more than four days to cover all short positions.

24/7 Wall St. recently pointed to GE as one of the stocks dragging down the Dow this year. Its share price ended the two-week short interest period fractionally lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was fractionally higher in that time. GE shares have pulled back since then, and they ended most recently at $28.92. They have traded between $27.10 and $33.00 in the past year.

Vale

The number of Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) shares short shrank by around 3.3 million during the period, or less than 3%, to almost 124.82 million. Note that seven of the past eight periods have seen shrinking short interest. At the most recent average daily volume, it would take about seven days to cover all short positions.

Shares of this Brazilian miner were upgraded at Barclays last month. Vale’s shares grew more than 9% during the short-interest period, though they were up more than 12% at one point. They closed most recently at $5.78. That is more than 75% higher year to date but less than 22% higher than a year ago. The share price has ranged from $2.13 to $6.26 in the past 52 weeks.

Alibaba

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) saw its short interest grow more than 7% to more than 122.26 million shares by the end of last month. That was 4.9% of the float, the highest level in the past year. As of the most recent settlement date, it would take more than six days to cover all short positions, after the average daily volume rose somewhat during the period.

CEO Jack Ma reportedly was promoting free trade at the G20. Short sellers watched the share price rise more than 5% between the settlement dates, hitting a new 52-week high of $109.87 in that time. The stock closed most recently at $105.23. The 52-week low is down at $59.25.

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And the Rest

Rounding out the top 10 were Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX), Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA), Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) and Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG). Here again the moves were mixed but mild, with modest short interest gains in Freeport and Transocean, while Alcoa was little changed and short sellers shied away from Chesapeake somewhat.

Still lingering outside the top 10 were Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T). Weatherford International PLC (NYSE: WFT) made a run at the top 10 with a more than 26% rise in the number of its shares short, but it didn’t quite make the cut this time.

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