Early this month, the broader markets continued their retreats from all-time highs, and volatility seemed to be the name of the game, not only in stocks but the price of oil as well. Plus investors were waiting for the first-quarter earnings reporting season to begin. The most shorted stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange did not reveal any big trend among short sellers, as the moves in those stocks were mixed and mostly mild between the March 31 and April 13 settlement dates.

However, the number of Ford shares short stood out with a double-gain for the second period in a row, as the company’s woes appeared to continue.

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

The number of Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s (NYSE: CHK) shares short has risen in nearly every period so far this year. It increased most recently by almost 6% to more than 135.27 million shares short, lifting it to the top of the list. That was 15.1% of the company’s float. At the most current daily average, it would take about three days to cover all the short positions.

Chesapeake saw a price target cut just ahead of the short interest period. Shares were down less than 1% by mid-month, though they were up more than 6% early in the period. The stock closed most recently at $5.51. That was well up from the multiyear low of $3.56 from last summer, but handily less than the 52-week high of $8.20 seen in mid-December.

AT&T

The more than 126.47 million AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) shares short on the most recent settlement date was 6.9% greater than at the end of March. It also was 2.1% 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 eight days to cover all short positions.

AT&T made a big investment in 5G technology during the period. In the first two weeks of this month, short sellers watched the share price drop about 3%, and it has retreated further since that time. The stock closed on Tuesday at $39.94 a share, which was around 6% lower than at the beginning of the year. The 52-week trading range for the shares is $36.10 to $43.89.

Weatherford International

Weatherford International PLC (NYSE: WFT) slipped from its spot as the most shorted NYSE stock with an almost 4% drop in the number of shares short in the first two weeks of this month. That was the second period in a row of declining short interest. The nearly 131.08 million shares reported most recently represented 13.5% of this oil and gas driller’s total float. The days to cover reading ended the period at around eight.

Goldman Sachs recently downgraded Weatherford shares. The stock ended the two weeks almost 9% lower, most of the drop coming at the end of the period. The S&P 500 was down fractionally in that time. The stock closed most recently at $5.61 a share, which still is more than 12% higher year to date. Shares have changed hands between $3.73 and $8.49 in the past 52 weeks.

Sprint

Also slipping down the list this month was Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S). Note that its short interest declined in eight of the previous 11 periods. Most recently the number of shares short fell by almost 2 million to more than 120.08 million, which totaled 20.1% of the telecom’s float. The days to cover rose from around 10 to near 14 during those two weeks.

Sprint signaled a potential shift in focus earlier this month. Sprint’s share price ended the short interest period down more than 4%, much of the drop coming on the day of that announcement. The stock has gained more than 5% since then and closed most recently at $8.95. It hit a 52-week high of $9.65 back in February, well up from the 52-week low of $3.37 almost a year ago.

Ford

After the short interest in Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) surged more than 32% late last month, it added on another 10% or so in the first two weeks of this month, bringing the reported number of shares short to almost 121.63 million. That represents 3.1% of the total float, and it was the second time this year that short interest was more than 100 million shares. It would take three days to cover all short positions, as of the latest settlement date.

Tesla passed Ford in market cap during in the period, becoming the second biggest U.S. automaker. Ford stock ended the period down more than 4%, although it has recovered much of that ground since. Its shares have changed hands between $11.07 and $14.22 apiece in the past year. They were trading at $11.48 on Tuesday’s close, which is more than 5% lower since the beginning of the year.

Alibaba

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) saw its short interest essentially flat for the second period in a row, most recently pegged at more than 110.93 million shares. That was again one of the smallest numbers of shares short so far this year, and it still totaled 4.5% of the float. As the daily average volume decreased early this month, the days to cover rose from about 11 to around 13.

Alibaba has been in a bidding war for Moneygram. Its share price by the end of the two-week short interest period was more than 2% higher, and the stock has popped another 3% or so in the past week. It closed most recently at $115.48 a share, after hitting a 52-week high of $115.82 this week. The 52-week low is $73.30.

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And the Rest

Rounding out the top 10 were J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL) and General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE). Short sellers increased their positions in all four of them, but especially CenturyLink, which saw a double-digit percentage gain in short interest.

Lingering just outside the spotlight of the top 10 most shorted NYSE stocks were Infosys Ltd. (NYSE: INFY) and Seadrill Ltd. (NYSE: SDRL).

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