Shares sold short in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) rose to 55.5 million in the period that ended March 31, compared to 52.7 million in the period that ended March 15. Apple is the 11th most shorted stock of public corporations traded on the Nasdaq.

Wall Street opinions about Apple are divided into two camps. The first is that the aging iPhone 6 line will sell well between now and the launch of the iPhone 7, presumably this fall. These sales will be bolstered by the new iPhone SE, which is smaller than the iPhone 6, and cheaper, but with a more powerful chip.

The negative case is based on the erosion of the Apple brand because it has launched a mid-priced phone, which in turn erode the brand’s image. And consumers will delay purchase of iPhone 6 models while they wait for the iPhone 7. This assumes the iPhone 7 will be a huge leap forward in features compared to its predecessors. If it is not, Apple shares will nosedive.

Over the past year, pessimists have driven Apple’s share price down 14%, compared to a 2% drop in the S&P 500. That trend recently has reversed strongly, with shares more than 6% higher, compared to 1% gain in the S&P.

The short interest in Apple shows something of the sentiment about its shares, but so does the recent jump in share price.

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