Short Stocks: Bets build against tech, video games

NEW YORK, April 24 (Reuters) - Short interest fell in mid-April on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, the exchanges said on Friday in their twice-monthly reports, suggesting a decrease in bearish sentiment in the stock market.

On Nasdaq, short interest fell 4.8 percent, while on the NYSE, it fell 2.9 percent for the first time since mid-December 2008.

The following list shows stocks that saw increased interest from short sellers, who bet that a certain stock's price will fall, and key recent news events for those stocks. The data reflect short trades with a settlement date of April 15, 2009. For full story please see [ID:nnN24452368]

BROCADE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS INC (BRCD.O)

Short interest rose 76 percent in the company.

Brocade CEO Michael Klayko told Reuters in an interview April 13 that rival Cisco Systems Inc's (CSCO.O) expansion into the data center market will likely alienate its vendor partners and bring more business to Brocade. [ID:nN13381731]

About 16.7 million of the company's shares were held short, or 4.4 percent of its total shares outstanding.

FIDELITY NATIONAL INFORMATION SERVICES (FIS.N)

Short interest rose 123.38 percent in the company.

FIS agreed on April 1 to buy Metavante Technologies Inc (MV.N) for about $2.94 billion, to create the world's largest provider of integrated payment and financial processing services. [ID:nBNG312868]

About 8 million of the company's shares were held short, or 4.2 percent of its total shares outstanding.

GAMESTOP CORP (GME.N)

Short interest rose 24.9 percent in the company.

U.S. video games sales fell 17 percent in March, according to a report released in April by research group NPD. [ID:nN17313367]

About 12.9 million of the company's shares were held short, or 7.8 percent of its total shares outstanding.

NETEASE (NTES.O)