Short Sellers Run for Cover From Major Semiconductors

By Chris Lange Updated Mar 13, 6:22PM EDT · Published Mar 10, 8:15AM EST

Short Sellers Run for Cover From Major Semiconductors — © Thinkstock

The short interest data have come out for the February 29 settlement date. It is important to note that semiconductor trends are considered to be leading indicators of technology and broader electronics demand.

The February 29 short interest data have been compared with the previous report. On the broad scope, short sellers have backed off these semiconductor stocks.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) saw its short interest increase to 80.54 million shares. The previous level was 79.57 million and one of the lowest readings in the past 52 weeks. Shares closed Wednesday at $30.86, in a 52-week trading range of $24.87 to $35.59.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) had its short interest decrease to 128.40 million shares. The previous level was 132.34 million, and it compared to the late July level of 157.66 million, easily the highest in the past 52 weeks. Shares of AMD closed Wednesday at $2.36, in a 52-week range of $1.61 to $3.06.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) saw its short interest increase to 21.04 million, compared to the previous period, in which 16.69 million shares were reported short. Qualcomm shares closed Wednesday at $51.95, in a 52-week range of $42.24 to $71.90.
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Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) short interest decreased to 12.33 million shares. The previous reading was 16.28 million. The current reading is the lowest on the year. Shares closed Wednesday at $19.17, in a 52-week range of $14.25 to $24.59.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) saw its short interest decrease to 57.01 million shares from the previous reading of 57.49 million. Shares of Micron closed Wednesday at $10.81, in a 52-week range of $9.31 to $29.78.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) had its short interest decrease slightly for the late-month settlement date. The most recent reading was 15.16 million shares, compared to the previous 15.18 million. Shares closed Wednesday at $76.65, in a 52-week trading range of $44.28 to $87.43.

Broadcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO), formerly Avago Technologies, saw its short interest drop to 7.16 million shares from the previous level of 8.76 million. Shares closed Wednesday at $141.96, in a 52-week range of $100.00 to $150.50.

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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.