The financial sector was a major part of the Great Recession, and it was a major part of the recovery and raging bull market afterward. Generally speaking, the major financial institutions in the United States are a good barometer of the current state of U.S. markets.
So when short sellers make a play against these major banks, they are effectively betting for a downturn. Conversely, when they back off they might be expecting a surge. Granted, some plays are directly against individual companies, like we saw with Wells Fargo early in 2017.
The December 14 short interest data have been compared with the previous figures, and short interest in these selected big bank stocks increased.
Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) saw its short interest increase to 147.89 million shares. The previous level was 136.10 million. Shares were last seen trading at $24.11, in a 52-week range of $22.66 to $33.05.
The number of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) shares short rose to 21.19 million from the previous level of 20.20 million. Shares most recently traded at $95.96, in a 52-week range of $91.11 to $119.33.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) short interest increased to 20.66 million from the previous level of 18.03 million. Shares were trading at $51.44, in a 52-week range of $48.42 to $80.70.
Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) short interest grew to 35.53 million shares from the previous reading of 25.55 million. Shares were trading at $45.59, within a 52-week range of $43.02 to $66.31.
Short interest in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) increased to 6.27 million shares from the previous 3.96 million. The stock traded at $162.93, in a 52-week range of $151.70 to $275.31.
Morgan Stanley’s (NYSE: MS) short interest for this settlement date was 12.23 million shares, up from the previous 9.82 million. Shares were changing hands at $39.30, in a 52-week trading range of $36.74 to $59.38.
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