Short Sellers Run for Cover in Semiconductors

On the broad scope, short sellers appear to be backing off these semiconductor stocks, as most of this sample has seen its short interest levels decrease. The June 15 short interest data have been compared with the previous figures.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) saw its short interest increase to 128.27 million shares. The previous level was 116.08 million. Shares closed Wednesday at $31.91, in a 52-week trading range of $29.31 to $37.90.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) had its short interest decrease to 116.75 million shares. The previous level was 118.03 million. Shares of AMD closed Wednesday at $2.62, in a 52-week trading range of $2.14 to $4.80.

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Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) saw its short interest decrease to 63.17 million, compared to the previous period, in which 69.01 million shares were reported short. The previous reading was the highest within the past 52 weeks. Qualcomm shares closed Wednesday at $65.35, in a 52-week trading range of $62.26 to $81.97.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) saw its short interest for the June 15 settlement date continue to decline handily to 18.49 million shares. The previous reading was 21.20 million. The current reading is the lowest on the year. The highest reading on the year was 82.90 million in late February. Shares closed Wednesday at $20.10, in a 52-week range of $18.63 to $25.71.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) saw its short interest fall to 63.47 million shares from the previous reading of 65.81 million. Short interest is currently at its lowest level on the year. Shares of Micron closed Wednesday at $24.06, in a 52-week range of $23.70 to $36.59.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) was another of the chip stocks that had its short interest decrease in May. The most recent reading was 14.87 million shares, compared to the previous reading of 16.93 million. Shares closed Wednesday at $63.79, in a 52-week trading range of $63.00 to $108.77.

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) saw its short interest increase to 8.18 million shares, versus the previous short interest level of 8.04 million. Note that Broadcom has only just entered into an agreement with Avago to be purchased for $37 billion. Shares closed Wednesday at $53.14, in a 52-week range of $34.50 to $57.70.

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