Finance
Most shorted S&P 500 financial stocks at June's end (NYSEARCA:XLF)
Average short interest across S&P 500 financial stocks was flat at 1.48% of shares float as of the end of June, compared to the prior month.
The S&P 500’s financial sector (NYSEARCA:XLF) was up 12.7%, as compared to the broader S&P 500 index’s rise of 17.7% since the start of the year.
The largest contributor to the index, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) had a short interest of 0.77% of the total float, while the next biggest contributor, J.P. Morgan’s (JPM) short interest, stood at 0.81%.
JPM’s Q2 earnings trailed the Wall Street consensus, as the company bolstered the amount of money it sets aside for potential credit losses.
Stocks with the largest and least short positions:
Ranked by short interest as a percentage of shares float
Franklin Resources (BEN) continued to reign at the top as the most shorted stock at 6.48%, with 18.4M shares sold short.
FactSet Research System (FDS) was the second-most-shorted financial stock at 5.42%, followed by Regions Financial (RF) at 4.33%.
Mastercard (MA) also held onto its position of being the least shorted stock at 0.53%, with 4.4M shares sold short, and preceded by S&P Global (SPGI) at 0.72%.
Industrial Analysis:
Average short interest as a percentage of floating shares
Consumer Finance held on to its top spot for being the most shorted industry within the financial sector, with 2.32% short interest as of June end, up from 2.25% as of the end of May.
Financial Services is the second most shorted industry within the financial sector, with 1.78% short interest as of end-June, down from 1.99% in May.
Capital Market, came in at third, with short interest at 1.73% at June end, marginally down from 1.77% as of May’s end.