The short interest data have come out for the April 15 settlement date. It is important to note that semiconductor trends are considered to be leading indicators of technology and broader electronics demand. Chip makers with a solid position in the mobile space continue to advance, and the world’s largest semiconductor maker is also strong as demand for desktops and laptops has been better than expected.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) saw its short interest fall by roughly 13 million shares to 115.2 million. The previous level was 128.5 million. Shares closed Friday at $32.08, in a 52-week trading range of $25.74 to $37.90.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) had its short interest fall about 3% to 99.97 million shares. The previous level was 103.2 million. As shares have gotten closer to their 52-week lows recently, short interest has backed off as well. Shares of AMD closed Friday at $2.30, in a 52-week trading range of $2.14 to $4.80.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) saw its short interest jump up to 21.5 million, compared to the previous period, in which 19.6 million shares reported short. Currently this is the second highest reading that short interest has had within the past year. Qualcomm shares closed Friday at $68.24, in a 52-week trading range of $62.26 to $81.97.

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Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) saw its short interest for the April 15 settlement date fall to 77.1 million shares. The previous reading was 77.9 million. The current reading makes the list for the top five of the highest short interest readings within the past 52-weeks. Shares closed Friday at $21.80, in a 52-week trading range of $18.27 to $25.71.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) saw its short interest increase to 79.7 million shares. The previous reading was 77.2. Relatively speaking, short interest is near its lowest levels on the year. Shares of Micron closed Friday at $29.20, in a 52-week range of $24.19 to $36.59.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) was one of the chip stocks that had its short interest increase in early April. The most recent reading was 19.6 million shares, compared to the previous reading of 18.2 million. Shares closed Friday at $67.92, in a 52-week trading range of $63.00 to $108.77.

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) saw its short interest fall slightly to 7.07 million shares, versus the previous short interest level of 7.12 million. It is worth noting that the past two short interest readings are two of the three highest year to date. Shares closed Friday at $44.46, in a 52-week range of $29.30 to $46.81.

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