Average short interest across S&P 500 financial stocks was flat at 1.48% of shares float as of June end, as compared to the prior month.
The largest contributor to the index, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) had a short interest of 0.77% of the total float, while the next biggest contributor, J.P. Morgan’s (JPM) short interest, stood at 0.81%.
JPM’s Q2 earnings trailed the Wall Street consensus, as the company bolstered the amount of money it sets aside for potential credit losses.
Franklin Resources (BEN) continued to reign at the top as the most shorted stock at 6.48%, with 18.4M shares sold short.
FactSet Research System (FDS) was the second-most-shorted financial stock at 5.42%, followed by Regions Financial (RF) at 4.33%.
Mastercard (MA) also held onto its position of being the least shorted stock at 0.53%, with 4.4M shares sold short, and preceded by S&P Global (SPGI) at 0.72%.
Industrial Analysis:
Average short interest as a percentage of floating shares
Consumer Finance held on to its top spot for being the most shorted industry within the financial sector, with 2.32% short interest as of June end, up from 2.25% as of end-May.
Financial Services is the second most shorted industry within the financial sector, with 1.78% short interest as of end-June, down from 1.99% in May.
Capital Market, came in at third, with short interest at 1.73% at June end, marginally down from 1.77% as of May end.