Short Sellers Keep Exiting Semiconductors

The short interest data have come out for the January 30 settlement date. Recent short interest moves show that investors seem to be growing marginally more optimistic on the semiconductor industry, as short interest is dropping across the industry for the most part. It is important to note that semiconductor trends are considered to be leading indicators of technology and broader electronics demand. Chip makers with a solid position in the mobile space continue to advance, and the world’s largest semiconductor maker is also strong as demand for desktops and laptops is better than expected.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) saw its short interest fall by about 6 million shares to 127.5 million, with 3.3 days to cover. The previous level was 133.6 million shares, with 4.3 days to cover. During this time, shares of Intel came close to hitting a 52-week high but fell off at the tail end of the month. Shares closed Tuesday at $33.70, in a 52-week trading range of $24.30 to $37.90.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) had its short interest fall to 126.8 million shares, with 3.9 days to cover, compared to the previous reading of 132.7 million shares and about 11 days to cover. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices closed Tuesday at $3.04. The 52-week trading range is $2.14 to $4.80.

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Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) saw its short interest fall to 12.7 million shares, with 1.0 day to cover, compared to the previous period, which reported a reading of 17.7 million shares, with 1.7 days to cover. The current reading is the lowest short interest has been in the past year. The only other reading that comes close was posted after the market sell-off in October. Qualcomm shares closed Tuesday at $70.26, in a 52-week trading range of $62.26 to $81.97.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) saw its short interest increase to 72.0 million shares, with 5.9 days to cover, for the January 30 settlement date. The previous reading was 71.2 million, with 4.6 days to cover. The stock closed Tuesday at $24.28, in a 52-week trading range of $17.73 to $25.71.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) saw its short interest fall to 86.5 million shares, with 3.1 days to cover. Short interest has been in a constant decline since the mid-September settlement date, excluding the previous reading of 94.4 million with 2.9 days to cover. On the year, the highest short interest reading was 125.3 million in July. Shares of Micron closed Tuesday at $31.09, in a 52-week trading range of $21.02 to $36.59.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) was another one of the chip stocks that had its short interest drop in late January. The reading was 15.3 million shares, with 2.4 days to cover, compared to the previous reading of 16.7 million, with 2.5 days to cover. Shares closed Tuesday at $79.05, in a 52-week trading range of $71.45 to $108.77.