Short interest in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) dropped 14% to 53.4 million shares for the period that ended June 30. Maybe some Apple holders believe its earnings will be better than expected, that its business will pick up in China or that the rumors about strong new features of the iPhone 7 are true.

Apple’s shares have traded sideways in the past month and sit at just above $97. That remains depressingly lower than the 52-week high of $133. Concern over Apple’s ability to leapfrog other smartphone technology with the iPhone 7 has driven anxiety. So has the trouble selling the current generation of iPhones in China.

And some investors believe most of the bad news on Apple is out. In a recent story in Barron’s:

With just over two weeks go to before Apple (AAPL) reports third quarter earnings, Mizuho believes that most estimate cuts are in, meaning expectations for the second half of the year are now quite reasonable.

Not a ringing endorsement, but perhaps a good enough one to support shares until Apple posts good numbers. If iPhone sales hold their own, the quarter should satisfy skeptics.

Apple is up against two trends. One is industrywide and the other from competition. Most global tech research firms show the growth of smartphone sales slowing. And Samsung’s new Galaxy S7, a direct competitor to Apple’s iPhone 6 franchise, has done well.

CEO Tim Cook has been attacked for not pushing Apple forward with more revolutionary innovation. Perhaps that is because these advantages are impossible.

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