Apple Short Interest Drops by 13 Million
Apple held on to its spot among the top five most shorted stocks on the Nasdaq between the June 13 and June 30 settlement dates, even though short sellers shied away. Some of 24/7 Wall St.'s favorite stocks also had shrinking short interest in the period, but Microsoft and Groupon bucked that trend.
The number of Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares short declined by 10.8% in the period. The more than 112.30 million shares short at the end of June represents 1.9% of the float and the lowest level of short interest since March. It would take more than two days to cover all short positions. Analysts have been bullish in anticipation the iPhone 6 rollout, but the share price rose less than 2% during the period. It closed at $95.04 Thursday, in a 52-week range of $59.75 to $96.80.
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Intel Corp. (INTC) saw a 4.6% drop in short interest to 174.35 million shares during the period when its success rubbed off on other tech stocks. That totaled 3.5% of the company's float, and it took back most of the gain in the number of shares short in the previous period. The days to cover rose to more than five. Short sellers watched as share prices rose more than 3% in the two-week period. Shares ended Thursday at $31.26, in a 52-week range of $21.89 to $31.36. They are up almost 20% year-to-date.
The number of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) shares short rose by about 9.64 million to around 92.22 million, which was 1.2% of the float. That was the greatest level of short interest in the past year. It would take about three days to cover all short positions. The stock's price was up a little more than 1% in the two-week period but is still more than 12% higher year-to-date. Shares closed at $41.69 on Thursday, in a 52-week range of $30.84 to $42.29.
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The number of Groupon Inc. (GRPN) shares short rose 6.0%, the fourth-straight period of rising short interest. The 80.50 million shares short at the end of June represent 17.7% of the float. It would about five days to cover all short positions. The stock saw a 6% gain in the two-week period to June 30 and closed at $6.50 on Thursday. The 52-week range is $5.18 to $12.76.
BlackBerry Ltd. (BBRY) also saw its short interest drop during the period, down about 3.8% to more than 93.66 million shares. But that was still 19.2% of the available shares. The average daily volume jumped to its highest level since February, reducing the days to cover from 11 to three. Short sellers watched as the share price rose by almost 30% during the two-week period. Thursday the stock closed at $11.42, in a 52-week range of $5.44 to $12.18.
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The short interest in JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU) retreated 5.4% from the 52-week high in the previous period to around 53.27 million shares, or 21.5% of the total float. It would take more than seven days to cover all short positions. Shares rose about 6% in the two-week period to June 30 and now are up more than 24% year-to-date. Shares closed at $10.73 and have traded in a range of $6.04 to $11.12 in the past year.
Zynga Inc.'s (ZNGA) short interest fell from around 54.60 million shares to 50.30 million by the end of June, or to 7.2% of the company's float. That was the fourth consecutive period of dwindling short interest. The days to cover is about three. Shares closed Thursday at $3.12, in a 52-week range of $2.72 to $5.89, and posted a share price increase of less than 4% for the two-week short-interest period.
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