The bull market is now eight years old, and markets still keep on hitting new highs. How have the short sellers been reacting to this pricey market? Moves in the most shorted stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange between the February 15 and February 28 settlement dates were mostly positive and mostly mild.
The outliers were Chesapeake Energy, which saw another sizable gain in short interest, while short sellers reversed course on Pfizer after piling on earlier last month.
Note that the top six stocks on the list all had more than 110 million shares short at the end of the most recent settlement period.
Chesapeake Energy
After about a 7% gain in Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s (NYSE: CHK) short interest in early February, it saw another almost 13% rise in the final two weeks of the month. The more than 134.59 million shares short reported most recently were near 14% of the float. Note that short interest was about 204 million shares a year ago. As of the most recent settlement date, the days to cover reading was about three.
Chesapeake posted mixed fourth-quarter results during the period. Between the latest settlement dates, short sellers watched the share price pull back almost 14%. It retreated more afterward and closed most recently at $5.13. That was still up handily from the multiyear low of $3.53 from almost a year ago, but less than the 52-week high of $8.20 seen in mid-December.
Weatherford International
Following a surge of about 14% in late January, Weatherford International PLC (NYSE: WFT) was the most shorted NYSE stock. But the number of shares short retreated a bit in early February and was essentially flat in the latest period at more than 118.18 million. That figure represented more than 12% of this oil and gas driller’s total float. At the most current daily average, it would take about three days to cover all the short positions.
Weatherford recently named its new chief executive officer. Its shares ended the two-week period about 8% lower, most of that decline coming early in the period. The stock closed most recently at $6.35, which is about 27% higher year to date. Shares have changed hands between $3.73 and $8.49 in the past 52 weeks.
Sprint
The short interest has declined in seven of the previous eight periods. The number of Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) shares short retreated by about 2.8 million shares, or more than 2%, between the most recent settlement dates. The more than 116.46 million shares reported totaled less than 19% of the float. The days to cover rose to about eight during those two weeks.
Like its peers, Sprint now has an unlimited data plan. Sprint’s share price ended the two weeks more than 3% lower than where it began, though it was up about 2% at one point. The stock has retreated more since then and closed most recently at $8.31. The stock hit a 52-week high of $9.65 earlier this year, well up from the 52-week low of $3.12 almost a year ago.
AT&T
The almost 112.70 million AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) shares short at the end of February was more than 6 million greater than on the prior settlement date. It also was around 2% of the float, and it was the highest level of short interest in at least a year. As of the latest settlement date, it would take about six days to cover all short positions.
There was speculation in the period that AT&T could still be eyeing T-Mobile. AT&T shares were up less than 2% by the end of the two-week period, though it was up about 3% at one point. The stock closed Thursday at $41.94, which was less than 2% lower than at the beginning of the year. The 52-week trading range is $36.10 to $43.89.
Alibaba
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) saw its short interest dwindle about 2% to around 111.41 million shares by the end of the month. That was the smallest number of shares short so far this year, and it totaled more than 4% of the float. As of the latest settlement date, it would take about 12 days to cover all short positions, up from the previous 11.
During the period, Alibaba formed a strategic partnership with brick-and-mortar retailer Bailian. Its share price by the end of the two weeks was more than 1% higher, though it was down about 1% at one point. The stock closed most recently at $103.20 a share, which is more than 17% higher since the beginning of the year. The 52-week trading range is $70.61 to $109.87.
Pfizer
The approximately 137.21 million Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) shares short by the end of February was more than 19% less than on the prior settlement date. It represented around 2% of the conglomerate’s total float. Note that the short interest gain in the previous period was a whopping 300%. As of the latest settlement date, it would take about four days to cover all short positions.
Pfizer has been building a reputation for innovation. Its shares were up less than 2% by the end of the most recent short interest period, while the Dow was about 1% higher in that time. The stock closed Thursday at $34.05, which also was more than 4% higher than at the beginning of the year. The 52-week trading range is $28.74 to $37.39.
And the Rest
Rounding out the top 10 were General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Seadrill Ltd. (NYSE: SDRL) and CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL). Bank of America was the only one of these four to see its short interest shrink between the settlement dates.
Short sellers continued to yield on Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE), which has now dropped far out of the top 10 most shorted NYSE stocks. Still lingering just outside the top 10, however, are J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F).
Also check out our latest look at the most shorted Nasdaq stocks, which include Intel, Sirius XM and Frontier Communications.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
