Major Semiconductor Short Interest Remains Largely Mixed

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 12:44PM EST · Published Feb 25, 8:41AM EST

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Major Semiconductor Short Interest Remains Largely Mixed — © courtesy of Intel Corp.

The short interest data have come out for the February 12 settlement date. It is important to note that semiconductor trends are considered to be leading indicators of technology and broader electronics demand.

The February 12 short interest data have been compared with the previous report. On the broad scope, short sellers continue to have mixed views on these semiconductor stocks.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) saw its short interest increase to 79.57million shares. The previous level was 74.88 million, and the lowest reading in the past 52 weeks. Shares closed Wednesday at $29.19, in a 52-week trading range of $24.87 to $35.59.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) had its short interest increase to 132.34 million shares. The previous level was 129.61 million, and it compared to the late July level of 157.66 million, easily the highest in 2015. Shares of AMD closed Wednesday at $2.02, in a 52-week range of $1.61 to $3.23.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) saw its short interest decrease to 16.69 million, compared to the previous period, in which 19.32 million shares were reported short. The late-December reading was the lowest in the past 52 weeks. Qualcomm shares closed Wednesday at $51.52, in a 52-week range of $42.24 to $74.09.
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Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) short interest decreased to 16.28 million shares. The previous reading was 18.41 million. The highest reading of the past year was 82.90 million last February, and the current reading is the lowest in the same time frame. Shares closed Wednesday at $18.69, in a 52-week range of $14.25 to $25.64.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) saw its short interest increase to 57.49 million shares from the previous reading of 56.63 million. Shares of Micron closed Wednesday at $10.64, in a 52-week range of $9.31 to $31.50.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) had its short interest decrease slightly for the mid-month settlement date. The most recent reading was 15.18 million shares, compared to the previous 15.84 million. Shares closed Wednesday at $69.90, in a 52-week trading range of $44.28 to $87.43.

Broadcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO), formerly Avago Technologies, saw its short interest drastically drop to 8.76 million shares from the previous level of 37.38 million. Shares closed Wednesday at $130.34, in a 52-week range of $100.00 to $150.50.

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.