Influx of Shorts Driving Down Tech Bellwethers

Short positions in the latest available month spiked dramatically for some of the most actively traded public companies according to data from the Nasdaq National Stock Market. The five companies with short positions that increased the most included Sirius Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) with a 24% jump, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) with a 44% jump, both JDS Uniphase Corp. (Nasdaq: JDSU) and Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) with a 30% increase and Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) with an astounding 60% surge in the number of shares short.

It is no surprise that these stocks traded lower Tuesday, amid a broad market sell-off, as short sellers continue to add to their positions. For some analysts, this data might bolster the case that the major inidices are officially in a bear market. Short sellers in these stocks, consisting of some of the strongest tech sector bellwethers, have launched successful bear raids that have dominated prices and controlled action to the downside.

But for other investors, this just might be seen as some of the glory day stocks being put out to pasture after suffering enormous fundamental damage because of weak quarterly results and bleak earnings outlooks.