January short interest in Apple (AAPL) rose 1.2 million shares to 25.7 million. The short statistics were measured on January 12 just as Apple was rallying toward $97.10 on January 15. Recently the stock has traded below $85.
It may be that some short sellers believed the "buying the rumor and selling the news" would work with Apple. The stock made a sharp move up as earnings were releases. They were spectacular, but guidance for the first calendar quarter was tepid, and there is a concern that the stock will languish, at least until the new iPhone is released mid-year. The options back-dating investigation at the company has turned some on Wall St. cautious.
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.
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