2 Short Seller Favorites Retreating From Recent Highs

By Trey Thoelcke Updated Jan 12, 3:06PM EST · Published Feb 7, 7:05AM EST

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

2 Short Seller Favorites Retreating From Recent Highs — © courtesy of Intel Corp.

[cnxvideo id=”655233″ placement=”ros”]The Dow Jones Industrial Average appears to be struggling to find any traction above the 20,000 milestone. Short sellers, though, may be keeping an eye on two of their favorite stocks in the days ahead. That’s because Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) and Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), which are among the five most shorted stocks traded on the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange, recently hit new 52-week highs and have begun to retreat.

After a nearly 22% reduction in Bank of America’s number of shares short in the previous period brought it to the lowest level since September, there was hardly any change between the December 30 and January 13 settlement dates. The more than 107.40 million shares short reported most recently still represented 1.1% of the money center bank’s float. The average daily trading volume increased in the period, but the days to cover remained at less than one.

This bank posted better-than-expected earnings last month. Short sellers watched the shares rise around 4% in the short interest period, while the S&P 500 increased less than 2% in that time. But the shares have slipped more than 1% since hitting a new 52-week high of $23.55 more than a week ago. The most recent close was at $23.12, the 52-week low is $10.99 and the consensus price target is $24.79.

[nativounit]

Almost 76.05 million Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) shares were sold short as of the most recent settlement date. Short interest shrank more than 4% during the period to total 1.6% of the company’s float. Note that the number of shares short has topped 80 million only once since last May. As of the mid-January, it would take about four days to cover all short positions.

Intel is expected to help lift the Dow this year, though its share price ended the two weeks up less than 2% from on the previous settlement date. However, since hitting a 52-week high of $38.45 in late January, the shares are down more than 4%, to close most recently at $36.27. Shares have changed hands as low as $27.68 in the past 52 weeks. The consensus analyst target is $41.15.

Note that Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI), another highly shorted stock, is also trading near its 52-week high, and new short interest data is due later this week.

[wallst_email_signup]

About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.