Short Sellers Increase Bets Against Telecom

Short sellers made bets across the board against the telecom industry for the period that ended January 15. Investors may be worried about price wars amongh carriers and handset companies as they fight for market share in a market of increased numbers of products and new operating systems like Google Android. AT&T and Verizon Wireless have recently begun competition based on lowering subscriber fees.

The short interest in Motorola (NYSE:MOT) rose 52% to 57.9 million shares. Shares short in Qwest (NYSE:Q) rose 15% to 76.1 million. The short interest in AT&T (NYSE:T) rose 14% to 64 million. Shares short in Sprint (NYSE:S) were up 5% to 97.1 million. The short interest in MetroPCS (NYSE:PCS) rose 13% to 24.8 million. Shares short in Palm (NASDAQ:PALM) were up 18% to 73.9 million. The short interest in cellphone chip provider Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) was higher by 8% to 28.1 million. Shares short in RIM (NASDAQ:RIMM) were up 14% to 16.6 million. The short interest in Vodafone (NYSE:VOD) was up 34% to 7.6 million.

Among widely traded stocks listed on the NYSE, the short interest in Ford (NYSE:F) rose 25% to 103.4 million shares. Shares sold short in Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) rose 31% to 71.9 million. The short interest in Disney (NYSE:DIS) fell 23% to 48.6 million.

Large changes among stocks traded on NASDAQ include an increase in the short interest in Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) of 18% to 26.6 million. Shares sold short in DryShips (NASSAQ:DRYS) rose 53% to 13.9 million. Shares sold short in Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) were down 15% to 54.8 million.

Data from NYSE and NASDAQ.

Douglas A. McIntyre