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Short bets against materials stocks rose in March compared to the end of February, with lithium producer Albemarle (ALB) being the most shorted stock in the sector and Ecolab (ECL) being the least shorted in the pack.
Average short interest across S&P500 materials stocks was 2.01% of shares float in end-March, up from 1.78% at the end of February.
The S&P 500’s materials sector ETF (NYSEARCA:XLB), which has around 2.4% weightage on the S&P 500, gained about 8.8% in the January-March period, underperforming the overall market's 10.8% upswing.
Stocks with the largest and least short positions:
Ranked by short interest as a percentage of shares float
Linde (LIN), Sherwin-Williams (SHW), and Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) the three largest contributors to the index, had short interest of 1.31%, 1.09%, and 1.27%, respectively.
Albemarle (ALB) had 14.6M shares sold short as of March 28, or 12.50% of the shares float. The stock is rated Sell by Seeking Alpha's Quant system, scoring a D on valuation.
FMC (FMC) was the second most shorted stock at 7% of shares float, followed by WestRock (WRK), and Celanese (CE), with short interest of 6% and 4.52%, respectively.
Ecolab (ECL) was preceded by Air Products and Chemicals (APD) with a short interest of 1.04% and Sherwin-Williams Co (SHW) with a 1.09% short interest.
Industry Analysis:
Containers & packaging remain the most shorted industry within the sector, with 2.40% short interest as of the end of March, up from 2.21% at the end of February.
Chemicals stocks took the second spot with 2.15% short interest as of March 28, compared to 1.77% a month ago.
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