Short Sellers Can’t Make Up Their Minds on Major Oil

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 12, 5:58PM EST · Published Nov 10, 7:10AM EST

Short Sellers Can’t Make Up Their Minds on Major Oil — © Thinkstock

The short interest data have been released for the October 31 settlement date. After the election was decided this week with the Republican candidate taking the White House, short interest for these major oil stocks is now more important than ever to follow. Crude oil has recovered to around the $45 level, which is a step in the right direction for major oil from where it has been, but still this is less than half of what it was in 2014.

The October 31 short interest data have been compared with the previous figures, and short interest for the selected oil stocks was mixed.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) saw its short interest decrease to 33.03 million shares from the previous reading of 36.28 million. Its shares closed Wednesday at $107.64, in a 52-week trading range of $75.33 to $108.26.

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Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) had short interest that rose to 53.96 million shares from the previous 50.99 million. Shares closed Wednesday at $86.25, within a 52-week range of $71.55 to $95.55.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) short interest decreased to 10.13 million shares from its previous reading of 12.35 million. Shares closed Wednesday at $33.84, in a 52-week range of $27.01 to $37.28.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) saw the number of its shares short increase slightly to 17.33 million from the previous level of 17.19 million. Shares closed Wednesday at $45.73, within a 52-week range of $31.05 to $55.61.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), or Petrobras, saw its short interest decrease to 64.37 million shares from the previous 75.59 million. The stock closed Wednesday at $11.32 a share, in a 52-week range of $2.71 to $12.56. Unfortunately, Petrobras may be trading on an entirely different set of fundamentals and sentiment due to its ongoing woes in Brazil.

Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s (NYSE: OXY) short interest increased to 17.60 million shares from the previous reading of 15.53 million. Shares closed most recently at $66.90, in a 52-week range of $58.24 to $78.48.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.