NEW YORK, April 9 (Reuters) - Short interest on the Nasdaq
fell 1.2 percent in late March, the exchange said on Wednesday,
suggesting a slight decrease in bearish sentiment in the stock
market.
The following stocks saw increased interest from short
sellers, who bet that a certain stock's price will fall.
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GEMSTAR TV GUIDE INTERNATIONAL INC GMST.O
Short interest rose more than 26 percent in shares of the
producer of television programming guides.
The company, which has agreed to be acquired by Macrovision
Corp MVSN.O posted a quarterly loss in February.
About 26.5 million of the company's shares were held short,
or about 6 percent of its total shares outstanding.
ACTIVISION INC (ATVI.O)
Short interest rose almost 55 percent in the shares of the
video game maker.
Gibson Guitar Inc has told the company that its wildly
popular "Guitar Hero" video games infringe on one of its
patents. Activision has asked a U.S. court to find their claim
invalid.
About 11.2 million of the company's shares were held short,
or almost 4 percent of its total shares outstanding.
FIFTH THIRD BANCORP (FITB.O)
Short interest rose over 27 percent in shares of the
Cincinatti-based bank.
Fitch Ratings said last month that the company, was placed
on review for downgrade and analysts at Deutsche Bank recently
cut their price target on the stock.
About 22.1 million of the company's shares were held short,
or 4 percent of its total shares outstanding.
SEPRACOR INC SEPR.O
Short interest rose more than 73 percent in shares of the
drug maker.
The company posted a fourth-quarter loss in February and
forecast 2008 profit below analyst expectations.
More than 8.6 million of the company's shares were held
short, or almost 8 percent of its total shares outstanding.
QLOGIC CORP (QLGC.O)
Short interest was up more than 62 percent in shares of the
company, which supplies components for data storage networks.
Analysts at JPMorgan cut their investment rating on the
company to "underweight" from "neutral" last month.
About 7.9 million of the company's shares were held short,
or about 6 percent of its total shares outstanding.
(Reporting by Emily Chasan; Editing by Andre Grenon)
