Bank of America Sees Massive Surge in Short Interest

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) saw one of the biggest shifts in its short interest in the most recently reported two-week period. Short interest increased by over 13 million to a total of 135.34 million, from the previous level of 121.67 million. Bank of America was also one of the most shorted stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Adding a little more than 10% in short interest makes sense at this point. The stock is cruising near multiyear highs not seen since the Great Recession.

Excluding Tuesday’s move, Bank of America has outperformed the broad markets, with its stock up 31% year to date. In just the past quarter alone, the stock is roughly 21% higher. So with most of this momentum coming recently, it makes sense that short sellers might be anticipating a pullback.

Also, the bank’s third-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations, despite a slowdown in its fixed-income trading business. Here’s how the company’s results fared against Wall Street expectations:

• Earnings per share: $0.48 versus $0.45 forecast by Thomson Reuters.
• Revenue: $22.079 billion versus $21.976 billion expected.

[nativounit]

A few analysts recently had this to say about Bank of America:

• Morgan Stanley has an Overweight rating with a $30 price target.
• JPMorgan has an Overweight rating with a $28.50.
• Nomura has a Buy rating with a $30 price target.
• BMO Capital Markets has a Market Perform rating with a $29 price target.

Shares of Bank of America were last seen at $28.94, with a consensus analyst price target of $28.68 and a 52-week range of $21.77 to $29.31.

[recirclink id=430863]

[wallst_email_signup]