The short interest in Ebay (EBAY) fell by 2.6 million shares to 34.5 million when its was measured on January 12. Perhaps investors with foresight worried that the big auction company would have a good Q4.

It was a smart move.

Ebay beat Wall St. estimates and the stock jumped up 9% on the day after earnings came out. So, someone betting against the stock may have had a painful day. Those who got out earlier in the month saved themselves a whipping.

Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at douglasamcintyre@247wallst.com. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.