NYSE Banks: Short Interest Declined 3% In December

I always like to know what the short interest is, as it serves as a useful sentiment indicator. The report below has been re-printed from a UBS report:

Short interest declines 3%

Short interest of NYSE banks declined 3% from November to December, representing 2.5% of total float (vs. 2.1% in November). The largest increases in short interest were at SunTrust Banks, Inc. (STI) (up 51%), PNC Financial Services (PNC) (37%), and Wachovia Corporation (WB) (21%), while Regions Financial Corporation (RF) (down 23%), Commerce Bancorp. (CBH) (-19%), Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) (-17%), and National City Corporation (NCC) (-16%) had the largest declines. Short interest/float ratios were highest at CBH and First Horizon National Corporation (FHN), while (Bank of America) BAC had the lowest.

Trading volume down 8%

The change in trading volume of NYSE bank stocks declined 8% from November to December. CBH (up 57%), Marshall & Ilsley Corporation (MI) (32%), and BAC (29%) had the largest increases in trading volume, while FHN (-32%), KeyCorp (KEY) (-32%), and Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. (SOV) (-30%) had the largest declines in trading volume.

Days to cover rose 8%

Median days-to-cover increased to 5.2 in December vs. 4.7 in November. The largest increases were at PNC, KEY, STI, SOV, and FHN, and the largest declines were at CBH, RF, MI, WFC, and BAC.

Total NYSE short interest flat

NYSE Short interest has remained relatively flat in December, and represented 2.6% of outstanding shares on the exchange. Due to the holidays, our full short interest note (which contains NASDAQ data) will be published after the new year.

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10 Short Squeeze Plays

Also, take a look at Stockpickr's portfolio 10 Short Squeeze Plays. The portfolio consists of stocks with high short-interest ratios, or short interest relative to average trading volume. The higher a stock's short-interest ratio, the higher its share price tends to jump during a squeeze. The 10 SSP screen also looks for companies with high insider buying, indicating confidence in the company's stock from those closest to it.