The overbought markets, along with political and geopolitical uncertainties and the rising concerns about the possibility of a sizable market correction, brought mixed reactions from short sellers when it came to the most shorted stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange between the May 31 and June 15 settlement dates. Of note though were that the upswings in short interest were much sharper than the downswings.
The most shorted NYSE stock held on to its place at the top of the list with double-digit percentage rise in the number of its shares sold short. But a leading money center bank also saw a big pop in its short interest in those two weeks, which lifted it into the number five spot.
Note that the top six stocks on the list all had more than 125 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, and it is the most shorted NYSE stock again. Short interest increased most recently by about 15% to around 191.89 million shares. That was 21.4% of the company’s float. At the latest posted daily average trading volume, it still would take about five days to cover all the short positions.
Natural gas price increases helped buoy the stock during the period. The share price ended the two weeks more than 1% lower, though it was up more than 4% at one point. The S&P 500 saw a fractional gain in that time. The stock closed most recently at $4.67 a share, which is more than 33% lower year to date. Shares have changed hands between $3.93 and $8.20 in the past 52 weeks.
AT&T
The approximately 149.11 million AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) shares short on the most recent settlement date was around 1% less than at the end of May. It also was 2.4% of the float. The previous period saw 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.
Last month, rival Verizon outbid AT&T for the 5G assets in Straight Path Communications. In the first two weeks of this month, short sellers watched the share price seesaw but end up with about the same gain as the S&P 500. The stock closed most recently at $38.15 a share, which was more than 10% 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 a little further from the top of the list with about a 6% decline in the number of shares short in the initial two weeks of this month. That followed two double-digit percentage increases in a row in late April and early May. The more than 148.33 million shares reported most recently represented 15.2% of this oil and gas driller’s total float. The days to cover reading ended the period at around five.
Weatherford stock has been retreating since the company posted a quarterly net loss at the end of April. Shares were down more than 8% in the two-week period, and they pulled back even further afterward. The share price was last seen at $3.85. That was up from the recent multiyear low of $3.69, but handily less than the 52-week high of $7.09 from back in March.
Ford
In the wake of a surge of more than 21% in the previous period, short sellers shied away Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F). The latest decline in short interest was a little more than 5%, bringing the reported number of shares short to more than 133.48 million. That represents 3.4% of the total float, and it was the sixth time this year that short interest was more than 100 million shares. It still would take three days to cover all short positions, as of the latest settlement date.
Ford recently said it will launch a diesel version of its best-selling F150 for 2018. Here too the share price seesawed during the period, but it ended around 1% higher. It has retreated since the settlement date. The shares have changed hands between $10.67 and $14.04 apiece in the past year. They were trading at $11.18 on Monday’s close, which is almost 8% lower than at the beginning of the year.
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. More than 131.63 million shares were short most recently, after a rise of about 15% by mid-month. That represented 1.3% of the money center bank’s float. The average daily trading volume rose from a year-to-date low in the prior period, and the days to cover was about two.
The Trump bump has worn off for Bank of America and its peers of late. Though, its shares ended the two weeks about 5% higher, they have retreated since that time and closed most recently at $22.89 apiece. That is more than 3% higher since the beginning of the year. Bank of America shares have a 52-week trading range of $12.05 to $25.80.
Alibaba
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) saw the number of its shares short increase nearly 9% from the previous period, and the latest reading was the greatest level so far this year. And note that the almost 128.76 million shares reported totaled 5.2% of the Chinese e-commerce giant’s float. The daily average volume jumped again during the period, and the days to cover dropped from more than nine to around four.
Alibaba is among companies expected to dominate the sharing economy. Its share price jumped more than 13% in the two-week short interest period but retreated a little by mid-month. The stock hit a 52-week high of $148.29 earlier this month but closed most recently at $142.73 a share, which is more than 62% higher year to date. The 52-week low of $73.30 was seen almost a year ago.
And the Rest
Rounding out the top 10 were Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S), CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL), J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) and General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE). A more than 19% jump in the number of shares short lifted GE back into the top 10 most shorted NYSE stocks. Moves in the other three were marginal.
Brazilian miner Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) slipped out of the top 10, and not far below it linger Infosys Ltd. (NYSE: INFY) and Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P).
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