Amazon Sends Short Sellers Running

By Chris Lange Published Jul 13, 8:02AM EDT

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN | AMZN Price Prediction) saw its short interest back off for the most recent settlement date of June 30. While short interest in this stock had been building since last October, short sellers backed off for this two-week session. This all comes as Amazon shares are holding just below all-time highs.

Some 4.52 million shares were sold short at the end of the latest period. That was down from the 4.83 million shares on the prior settlement date. In the same period of last year, 3.62 million shares were shorted.

In October of last year, short interest was more or less half of where it is now, registering at 2.51 million shares. Since then, Amazon’s stock is up about 16%.

The average daily trading volume for Amazon was 3.49 million shares, which would give short sellers about 1.29 days to cover their positions.

24/7 Wall St. recently reported on Amazon:

With the pullback that happened on Tuesday, Cramer noted that when markets sell off like this, it provides an opportunity to buy in more, and he highlighted a few stocks that investors should consider.

Cramer noted the first type of stock that investors should buy during a sell-off are those that are rallying while the rest of the market declines. Jimmy Chill pointed to stocks like Amazon …, which posted nearly a 5% gain on the day, and Apple …, which had a 1.5% gain.

The second type of stock to keep an eye out for is those that are on your personal shopping list, specifically ones that might have taken a loss. Companies like Devon Energy … haven’t seen too many down days while oil demand is relatively strong, but this makes a loss of 5% on the day a solid entry opportunity.

The last type of stock Cramer noted was the great high-quality companies that are only declining because the broader markets are taking a dip. He pointed to American Express … as the company is doing great, but it is only pulling lower because it is tied to so many exchange-traded funds.

Amazon.com stock closed at $3,718.55 a share on Monday, in a 52-week range of $2,871.00 to $3,759.99. The consensus price target is $4,241.33.

[recirclink id=912469][wallst_email_signup]

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.