Among other major technology stocks, the short position in Blackberry maker RIM (RIMM) rose 17% to 22.6 million shares. The short interest in competitor Palm was up 10% to 42.2 million. More than 33% of the Palm float is now sold short.
But, it was the really large tech companies that experienced the most notable moves.
The short interest in Microsoft rose 23% to 88.8 million shares. Shares sold short in Dell rose 14% to 59.8 million and the short interest in security software company Symantec were up 23% to 30.4 million. All of these are clear bets against a recovery of PC sales and may also represent a gamble that early buzz on Windows 7, the sales of which are supposed to help the computer hardware and software businesses, will not be good.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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