The short interest data have come out for the February 29 settlement date. It is important to note that semiconductor trends are considered to be leading indicators of technology and broader electronics demand.

The February 29 short interest data have been compared with the previous report. On the broad scope, short sellers have backed off these semiconductor stocks.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) saw its short interest increase to 80.54 million shares. The previous level was 79.57 million and one of the lowest readings in the past 52 weeks. Shares closed Wednesday at $30.86, in a 52-week trading range of $24.87 to $35.59.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) had its short interest decrease to 128.40 million shares. The previous level was 132.34 million, and it compared to the late July level of 157.66 million, easily the highest in the past 52 weeks. Shares of AMD closed Wednesday at $2.36, in a 52-week range of $1.61 to $3.06.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) saw its short interest increase to 21.04 million, compared to the previous period, in which 16.69 million shares were reported short. Qualcomm shares closed Wednesday at $51.95, in a 52-week range of $42.24 to $71.90.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) short interest decreased to 12.33 million shares. The previous reading was 16.28 million. The current reading is the lowest on the year. Shares closed Wednesday at $19.17, in a 52-week range of $14.25 to $24.59.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) saw its short interest decrease to 57.01 million shares from the previous reading of 57.49 million. Shares of Micron closed Wednesday at $10.81, in a 52-week range of $9.31 to $29.78.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) had its short interest decrease slightly for the late-month settlement date. The most recent reading was 15.16 million shares, compared to the previous 15.18 million. Shares closed Wednesday at $76.65, in a 52-week trading range of $44.28 to $87.43.

Broadcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO), formerly Avago Technologies, saw its short interest drop to 7.16 million shares from the previous level of 8.76 million. Shares closed Wednesday at $141.96, in a 52-week range of $100.00 to $150.50.

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