Short Sellers Become More Selective on Major Semiconductors

By Chris Lange Updated Mar 13, 6:09PM EDT · Published Dec 28, 8:45AM EST

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Short Sellers Become More Selective on Major Semiconductors — © Thinkstock

The short interest data have come out for the December 15 settlement date. It is important to note that semiconductor trends are considered to be leading indicators of technology and broader electronics demand.

The December 15 short interest data have been compared with the previous report. On the broad scope, short sellers appear to have mixed views on these semiconductor stocks.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) saw its short interest increase to 95.23 million shares. The previous level was 88.45 million, the lowest reading in the past 52 weeks. Shares closed Thursday at $34.98, in a 52-week trading range of $24.87 to $37.74.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) had its short interest increase to 116.62 million shares. The previous level was 113.25 million, compared to the late July level of 157.66 million, easily the highest so far in 2015. Shares of AMD closed Thursday at $2.92, in a 52-week range of $1.61 to $3.37.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) saw its short interest continue to shrink to 15.84 million, compared to the previous period, in which 16.70 million shares were reported short. Qualcomm shares closed Thursday at $49.55, in a 52-week trading range of $45.93 to $75.72.
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Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) short interest decreased to 21.39 million shares. The previous reading was 24.15 million. The highest reading year to date was 82.90 million in late February. Shares closed Thursday at $19.11, in a 52-week range of $14.25 to $25.64.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) saw its short interest decrease to 57.26 million shares from the previous reading of 59.85 million. Short interest is currently at its lowest level of the year. Shares of Micron closed Thursday at $14.48, in a 52-week range of $13.50 to $35.74.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) had its short interest increase for the mid-December settlement date. The most recent reading was 14.89 million shares, compared to the previous reading of 16.02 million. Shares closed Thursday at $75.28, in a 52-week trading range of $44.28 to $101.79.

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) saw its short interest increase to 5.19 million shares, versus the previous short interest level of 4.92 million. Note that Broadcom has entered into an agreement with Avago to be purchased for $37 billion. Shares closed Thursday at $57.82, in a 52-week range of $40.21 to $58.48.

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.