March came in like a lamb, as far as the markets were concerned. With the major markets retreating from all-time highs, it began to look like the Trump rally was spent. Judging by the most shorted stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange, overall short sellers seemed fairly enthusiastic about that. Moves in those shorted stocks were mostly positive between the February 28 and March 15 settlement dates.
Weatherford International led the trend, rising to the top of the list with a double-digit percentage gain in short interest during the period. On the other hand, the increases in the number of Chesapeake Energy and Alibaba shares short were miniscule.
Note that the top six stocks on the list all had more than 100 million shares short at the end of the most recent settlement period.
Weatherford International
Weatherford International PLC (NYSE: WFT) is once again the most shorted NYSE stock, following a 16.7% surge in short interest in the first two weeks of this month. The almost 137.87 million shares short represented 14.2% of this oil and gas driller’s total float. At the most current daily average, it would take about four days to cover all the short positions.
Weatherford named its new chief executive officer during the short interest period. Its shares ended the two weeks around 11% higher, while the S&P 500 was up about 1% in that time. The stock closed most recently at $5.89, which is about 18% higher year to date. Shares have changed hands between $3.73 and $8.49 in the past 52 weeks.
Chesapeake Energy
Though the number of Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s (NYSE: CHK) shares short has risen in each period so far this year, it took a breather most recently, with short interest essentially flat as of mid-March. The almost 134.66 million shares short reported most recently were 15.3% of the float. As of the latest settlement date, the days to cover reading was a bit more than three.
Chesapeake saw some notable insider buying earlier this month. In the two-week period, short sellers watched the share price pull back more than 9% but then recover to end flat. It retreated again afterward and closed most recently at $5.22. 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.
Sprint
The short interest has declined in seven of the previous nine periods. But the number of Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) shares short grew by about 8 million shares, or nearly 7%, between the most recent settlement dates. The around 124.50 million shares reported totaled 19.5% of the float. The days to cover rose from about eight to 10 during those two weeks.
Sprint and its peers appear to be in a race to the bottom. Sprint’s share price ended the two weeks about 6% lower than where it began, though it was up about 1% at one point. The stock has recovered some of that decline since then and closed most recently at $8.50. The stock hit a 52-week high of $9.65 earlier this year, well up from the 52-week low of $3.14 almost a year ago.
AT&T
The approximately 118.30 million AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) shares short at the middle of this month was more than 5 million greater than on the prior settlement date. It also was 1.9% 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 seven days to cover all short positions.
This month, AT&T said it would bring back 3,000 offshore jobs. Its shares were up nearly 2% by the end of the most recent short interest period, most of that gain in the final few days. The stock closed this past Friday at $41.68 apiece, which was about 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 increase fractionally to more than 112.06 million shares by the middle of March. That was the second smallest number of shares short so far this year, and it totaled 4.7% of the float. As of the latest settlement date, it would take about 13 days to cover all short positions.
During the period, Alibaba was looking for $5 billion in funding. Its share price by the end of the two weeks was less than 1% higher, though it was up more than 2% at one point. The stock closed most recently at $108.04 a share, which is around 23% higher since the beginning of the year. The 52-week trading range is $73.30 to $109.87.
Bank of America
The number of Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) shares short hit a year-to-date high in the first two weeks of this month. Around 107.78 million shares were short most recently, after a more than 4% rise. That represented 1.1% of the money center bank’s float. The average daily trading volume fell to a year-to-date low in the period, but the days to cover remained about one.
Warren Buffett still has a big stake in this bank. The shares ended the two weeks more than 2% higher. However, the stock has retreated more than 8% since that time and closed most recently at $23.12. That is up more than 4% year to date. Shares hit a new 52-week high of $25.80 last month, and the 52-week low is $12.05.
And the Rest
Rounding out the top 10 were J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP), Seadrill Ltd. (NYSE: SDRL), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL). The struggling retailer was the biggest short interest gainer here, but Seadrill and Pfizer bucked the trend with declining short interest.
Lingering just outside the spotlight of top 10 most shorted NYSE stocks were General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F).
And the most shorted Nasdaq stocks included Intel, Sirius XM and Frontier Communications.
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