The following S&P 500 stocks have all seen a significant slowdown in short-selling activity over the last month.
This signals bullish sentiment among short-sellers, who think these names are rebound-ready.
Short-selling is an investment technique that allows an investor to make money when the value of a stock falls. Short-sellers, however, lose money when the share price rises.
And because share prices could rise to infinity, a reckless short position could lead to incredibly large losses.
Because short-selling requires borrowing, an individual or institution must meet several requirements (including background checks) to engage in short-selling. Thus, in general, short-sellers are more sophisticated than the average investor.
In general, when there is an increase in short-selling, short-sellers seem to think the names will drop in value. When there is a decrease in short-selling, short-sellers seem to think the names will rise in value.
All of the names mentioned here are stuck in a downtrend, but short-sellers seem to think most of the bad news is priced into these stocks -- do you agree? (Click here to access free, interactive tools to analyze these ideas.)
1. Masco (NYSE: MAS ) : Distributes, and installs home improvement and building products for home improvement and new home construction markets principally in North America and Europe. Currently trading -3.74% below its 20-day SMA, -21.24% below its 50-day SMA, and -35.06% below its 200-day SMA. Shares shorted have decreased from 26.70M to 22.63M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.17% of the company's float of 347.17M shares.
2. Comerica (NYSE: CMA ) : Provides various financial products and services in Texas, Arizona, California, Florida, and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Currently trading -5.43% below its 20-day SMA, -21.49% below its 50-day SMA, and -34.92% below its 200-day SMA. Shares shorted have decreased from 16.14M to 12.04M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 2.34% of the company's float of 175.40M shares.
3. First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR ) : First Solar, manufactures and sells solar modules using a thin-film semiconductor technology. Currently trading -9.99% below its 20-day SMA, -21.44% below its 50-day SMA, and -32.71% below its 200-day SMA. Shares shorted have decreased from 19.38M to 16.91M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 4.15% of the company's float of 59.51M shares.
4. Allegheny Technologies (NYSE: ATI ) : Produces and sells specialty metals worldwide. Currently trading -0.24% below its 20-day SMA, -16.11% below its 50-day SMA, and -23.24% below its 200-day SMA. Shares shorted have decreased from 5.80M to 4.75M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.06% of the company's float of 99.04M shares.
5. NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX ) : Operates securities exchanges. Currently trading -4.08% below its 20-day SMA, -16.54% below its 50-day SMA, and -22.13% below its 200-day SMA. Shares shorted have decreased from 8.20M to 5.56M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.01% of the company's float of 261.37M shares.
6. Novellus Systems (Nasdaq: NVLS ) : Develops, manufactures, sells, and supports equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. Currently trading -2.76% below its 20-day SMA, -12.8% below its 50-day SMA, and -20.37% below its 200-day SMA. Shares shorted have decreased from 10.93M to 9.57M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 2.11% of the company's float of 64.57M shares.
7. R.R. Donnelley & Sons (NYSE: RRD ) : Provides pre-media, printing, logistics, and business process outsourcing products and services to private and public sectors worldwide. Currently trading -0.97% below its 20-day SMA, -16.46% below its 50-day SMA, and -19.63% below its 200-day SMA. Shares shorted have decreased from 27.71M to 25.11M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.39% of the company's float of 186.42M shares.
8. Safeway (NYSE: SWY ) : Operates as a food and drug retailer in North America. Currently trading -0.58% below its 20-day SMA, -13.43% below its 50-day SMA, and -19.35% below its 200-day SMA. Shares shorted have decreased from 38.61M to 34.70M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.12% of the company's float of 348.04M shares.
9. KLA-Tencor (Nasdaq: KLAC ) : Engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related nanoelectronics industries. Currently trading -1.2% below its 20-day SMA, -8.94% below its 50-day SMA, and -14.8% below its 200-day SMA. Shares shorted have decreased from 10.18M to 7.66M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.51% of the company's float of 166.34M shares.
10. International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT ) : Designs, manufactures, and markets electronic gaming equipment and systems worldwide. Currently trading -2.58% below its 20-day SMA, -12.79% below its 50-day SMA, and -13.18% below its 200-day SMA. Shares shorted have decreased from 11.92M to 8.49M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.15% of the company's float of 297.59M shares.
Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in analyst ratings over the last two years for the stocks mentioned above. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment Research.
Kapitall's Becca Lipman does not own any of the shares mentioned above.
RSS Headlines
Fool UK