Investing

The 5 Most Shorted Dow Stocks

Microsoft

> Shares short: more than 42.93 million
> Change from prior period: 5.2%
> Percentage of float: 0.6

Microsoft remained at the number three spot on the list in the first half of June despite ending four sizable retreats in a row. Short interest did not reclaim the 52-week low of around 37 million shares that occurred back in February. It would take these investors more than a day to cover their short bets, as of the middle of this month.

Recently, Microsoft has been seen as a top pick in the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) theme. The shares ended that two weeks trading more than 3% higher, though they had been up more than 7% at one point in the period. The Nasdaq saw a gain of more than 4% during the short interest period.

Microsoft stock was last seen trading at $197.84 a share, after hitting a multiyear high of $203.95 on Tuesday. The 52-week low of $130.78 was seen last summer. The latest share price is more than 24% higher than the low during the pandemic sell-off, while the Nasdaq is up almost 26% in that time.

And the Rest

Rounding out the top five most shorted Dow stocks on the most recent settlement date were Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). Both the semiconductor leader and the iPhone maker saw the numbers of their shares short increase marginally earlier this month. Intel stock ended the period more than 2% lower, as analysts had turned rather cautious on it. Apple stock was up over 7% by mid-month, and its market cap hit $1.5 trillion during that time.

On the following list of short interest changes in the Dow stocks as of June 15, note the surges in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) (which announced traders returning to offices), Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) (pledged $1 million to Minnesota communities) and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA) (stopped locking up Black beauty products).

Dow Stock Short (millions) Change % Float
Exxon 59.08 −2.52% 1.40%
Pfizer 53.75 3.29% 0.97%
Microsoft 42.93 5.15% 0.57%
Intel 38.86 0.57% 0.92%
Apple 34.83 1.85% 0.80%
Cisco 34.39 −0.03% 0.82%
Visa 32.89 0.91% 1.95%
Verizon 31.63 9.98% 0.76%
Disney 28.63 0.99% 1.59%
Coca-Cola 24.07 −9.21% 0.56
JPMorgan 23.50 14.05% 0.78%
IBM 21.74 4.49% 2.45%
Walgreens 18.29 18.19% 2.51%
Dow 16.86 −4.64% 2.28%
Procter & Gamble 16.62 7.19% 0.67%
Chevron 16.41 −7.39% 0.88%
Raytheon Technologies 16.25 −10.72% 1.88%
Merck 14.56 −7.88% 0.58%
Walmart 14.04 3.96% 1.01%
Johnson & Johnson 13.76 5.71% 0.52%
Boeing 12.05 −19.63% 2.16%
American Express 10.99 −1.64% 1.37%
Nike 10.21 −14.18% 0.85%
Caterpillar 8.87 7.50% 1.64%
Home Depot 8.85 −22.13% 0.82%
McDonald’s 6.39 −15.28% 0.86%
UnitedHealth 6.13 −21.07% 0.65%
3M 6.09 −15.70% 1.06%
Travelers 5.20 30.98% 2.06%
Goldman Sachs 4.97 −24.30% 1.51%


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