NEWSLETTER
Hispanolist
Bets against financial stocks have decreased slightly since mid-January. The average short interest in S&P 500 financial stocks was 1.42% of the float at the end of January, up from 1.46% on January 12.
The financial sector of the S&P 500 (NYSERCA:XLF) is up 6.4%, marginally outperforming the broader S&P 500, which is up 6.19% since the beginning of the year.
stocks with the largest and least short positions
Ranked by short interest as a percentage of the stock float
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), the largest contributor to the index, is the third least shorted stock at 0.62%.
BRK.B had posted solid results in its fourth quarter.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Mastercard (MA) were the least sold stocks, down 0.61% and 0.59% respectively.
T Rowe Price (TROW) remained the most shorted stock, with 12.7 million shares sold short or 5.82% of the total float.
Zions Bancorp (ZION) was the second most sold financial stock with a 5% share float, followed by Franklin Resources (BEN) with 4.88% and Citizens Financial (CFG) with 4.39%.
JPM and VISA (V), the next two largest contributors to the index, have short interest of 0.61% and 2.14%, respectively.
Industrial Analysis
Average short interest as a percentage of shares float
Capital markets are the most shorted industry within the financial sector, with short interest of 1.85% at the end of January, up from 1.95% in mid-January.
Consumer finance and financial services were the second and third most shorted industries within the sector, up 1.84% from 1.80% and down 1.79% from 1.80%, respectively. , since January 12.
