NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Short interest in U.S. stocks
fell in early September, the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange
said on Thursday, suggesting a decrease in bearish sentiment
among equities investors.
The following list shows stocks that saw increased or
decreased interest from short sellers, who bet that a certain
stock's price will fall, and recent news events for those
stocks.
The data reflect short trades with a settlement date of Sept.
15.
For full story please see [ID:nN24475543]. For factboxes see
[ID:nN24296694] and [ID:nN24476748].
BANK OF AMERICA (BAC.N)
Short interest in the company fell 18 percent.
Many of the biggest hedge funds increased investments in U.S.
financial institutions in the second quarter quarter, betting on
a rally in a sector that had been associated with the biggest
risks over the past year. Quarterly data showed Bank of America
topped a list of biggest purchases by 30 top hedge funds in the
previous quarter.
E*TRADE FINANCIAL CORP (ETFC.O)
Short interest in the company fell 78 percent.
Hedge fund firm Citadel Investment Group LLC reversed course
on Aug. 31, canceling plans to cut its stake in online brokerage
E*Trade by about 10 percent.
News that E*Trade's largest stock and bond holder would not
sell 120 million shares into the market over the next three
months sent E*Trade stock surging. [ID:nN24476748].
BARRICK GOLD (ABX.N)
Short interest in the company rose 108 percent.
The world's top gold miner announced on Sept. 8 an equity
sale of at least $3 billion, only to boost it to at least $3.5
billion, or as much as $4 billion the following day. For details
see [ID:nN09328499].
BAKER HUGHES INC (BHI.N)
BJ SERVICES CO (BJS.N)
Short interest in Baker Hughes rose 172 percent while it fell
47 percent in BJ Services.
Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc (BHI.N) said on
Aug. 31 it would buy BJ Services Co (BJS.N) for $4.8 billion.
[ID:nBNG500189].
ELECTRONIC ARTS (ERTS.O)
Short interest in the company rose 35 percent.
Goldman Sachs and Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch
Research downgraded the video game publisher during the second
week of September. Goldman removed the company from its Americas
buy list while BofA-Merrill downgraded the shares to "neutral,"
on lower-than-expected title sales.
(Editing by Carol Bishopric)
