Short Sellers Continue to Flee Major Semiconductors

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 5:18PM EST · Published Nov 11, 8:05AM EST

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Short Sellers Continue to Flee Major Semiconductors — © courtesy of Intel Corp.

The short interest data have come out for the October 30 settlement date. It is important to note that semiconductor trends are considered to be leading indicators of technology and broader electronics demand.

On the broad scope, short sellers appear to have continued to back off these semiconductor stocks. The October 30 short interest data have been compared with the previous figures.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) saw its short interest decrease to 108.21 million shares, the lowest reading in the past 52 weeks. The previous level was 116.25 million. Shares closed Tuesday at $33.21, in a 52-week trading range of $24.87 to $37.90.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) had its short interest decrease to 119.78 million shares. The previous level was 129.75 million, compared to the late July level of 157.66 million, easily the highest in 2015. Shares of AMD closed Tuesday at $2.02, in a 52-week trading range of $1.61 to $3.37.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) saw its short interest continue to shrink to 19.68 million, compared to the previous period, in which 29.77 million shares were reported short. The final few readings over the summer were the highest within the past 52 weeks. Qualcomm shares closed Tuesday at $52.27, in a 52-week trading range of $49.92 to $75.72.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) short interest decreased to 24.17 million shares. The previous reading was 32.83 million. The highest reading year to date was 82.90 million in late February. Shares closed Tuesday at $16.76, in a 52-week range of $14.25 to $25.71.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) saw its short interest fall to a low of 60.07 million shares from the previous reading of 62.56 million. Short interest is currently at one of its lowest levels of the year. Shares of Micron closed Tuesday at $15.55, in a 52-week range of $13.50 to $36.59.

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SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) had its short interest decrease for the late-October settlement date. The most recent reading was 15.80 million shares, compared to the previous reading of 16.85 million. Shares closed Tuesday at $75.70, in a 52-week trading range of $44.28 to $106.64.

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) saw its short interest decrease to 6.29 million shares, versus the previous short interest level of 7.80 million. Note that Broadcom has entered into an agreement with Avago to be purchased for $37 billion. Shares closed Tuesday at $51.45, in a 52-week range of $40.21 to $57.70.

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.