Perhaps it was the summer heat, but the moves in the six most shorted stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange between July 14 and July 31 suggest that short sellers still were not sure on what to make of major indexes remaining near all-time highs even though the bull run is well more than eight years old now. With a few notable exceptions, short interest swings were mixed and mild.

The most obvious of those bucking the trend was a struggling retailer and failed merger partner that charged into the top six late last month. A big upswing in shares short also brought an iconic conglomerate back into the top 10, while short sellers gave up on a leading money center bank during the period.

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. In fact, all of the top 10 had short interest of more than 100 million shares.

Chesapeake Energy

The number of Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s (NYSE: CHK) shares short has risen in nearly every period so far this year. It remains the most shorted NYSE stock, even though short interest decreased most recently by about 3% to more than 199.64 million shares. That was 22.3% of the company’s float. At the latest posted daily average trading volume, it would take about seven days to cover all the short positions.

Wall Street was nervous about Chesapeake’s earnings ahead of the most recent report. Its share price ended the two weeks less than 2% higher, though it was down more than 4% at one point. The S&P 500 saw only a fractional rise in that time. The stock closed most recently at $4.37 a share, which is almost 38% lower year to date. Shares have changed hands between $4.31 and $8.20 in the past 52 weeks.

AT&T

The approximately 169.99 million AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) shares short on the most recent settlement date was more than 7% higher than in the middle of July, affirming its place in the number two spot on the list. Also it represented 2.8% of the float and was the highest level of short interest in at least a year. As of the end of last month, it would take about five days to cover all short positions.

AT&T also offered up a better-than-expected earnings numbers late last month. In the final two weeks of July, short sellers watched the share price rise by more than 7%, mostly at the end of the period. The stock closed most recently at $38.36 a share, which was less than 10% lower than at the beginning of the year. The 52-week trading range for those shares is $35.81 to $43.48.

Weatherford International

Weatherford International PLC (NYSE: WFT) remains in the third spot on the list, though the number of shares short dropped more than 6% in the latter two weeks of July to the fewest seen since back in April. The more than 143.85 million shares reported most recently represented 14.8% of the total float. The days to cover reading ended the period at around eight.

At least one analyst cited Weatherford in the period for its upside potential. Its shares were more than 6% higher at the end of the two-week period, despite being up more than 8% at one point in the interval. The share price was last seen at $4.03. That was up from the multiyear low of $3.39 in early July, but handily less than the 52-week high of $7.09 from back in March.

Alibaba

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) saw the number of its shares short dwindle more than 4% from the previous period, which had been the greatest number so far this year. And note that the almost 134.58 million shares reported totaled 5.3% of the Chinese e-commerce giant’s float. The daily average volume increased during the period, so the days to cover decreased from around 12 to about nine.

Alibaba managed to poach cloud business from Amazon during the latest short interest period. The share price rose about 2% in the latter half of July. It popped another 4% or so in the past week and closed most recently at $157.49. That is more than 79% higher year to date. The 52-week low of $84.80 was seen last December, and the 52-week high of $160.39 late last month.

Rite Aid

The number of Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) shares short increased sharply again in the first two weeks of this month, as it made a run up the list. Almost 123.94 million shares were short, after a rise of more than 9% by mid-month. That represented 1.2% of the retailer’s total float. But the average daily trading volume fell to a 52-week low in the period, pushing up the days to cover to more than two.

An analyst downgrade last month had little effect on the stock. Though its shares ended the two weeks almost 4% lower, they had been up nearly 14% in the interval. The stock closed most recently at $2.35 a share. That is about 57% lower than it was six months ago. Rite Aid shares have a 52-week trading range of $2.21 to $8.77.

Ford

For the fourth period in a row, short sellers shied away Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F). The latest decline in short interest was more than 7%, bringing the reported number of shares short to around 114.26 million. That represents 2.9% of the total float, and it was the ninth 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 was one of the great American companies that have lost control of their narrative. Its share price ended the latest settlement period down nearly 4%. The stock has retreated more since then and shares closed most recently at $10.92. That is more than 11% lower than six months ago. The shares have changed hands between $10.67 and $13.27 apiece in the past year.

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And the Rest

Rounding out the top 10 were CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL), J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP), General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S). GE was the standout here, as it saw a double-digit percentage rise in the number of its shares short, while short interest moves in the others were marginal.

Also of note, an almost 20% drop in Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) shares short allowed it to drop off the list of the top 10 most shorted NYSE stocks. Outside the spotlight of the top 10 as well is Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P), which likewise was in the top 10 in the previous period.

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