Apple Inc. (AAPL): Short Data Has Fallen Significantly

In today’s market place, there are a multitude of indicators for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) traders to keep an eye on, but it’s absolutely crucial to take note of a stock’s short interest. Two pieces of data we can use are: (a) the percentage of a stock’s shares that short sellers are currently selling, in addition to (b) the change in shorting activity.

More shorting usually means what you’d think: the Street has become less optimistic about that particular stock. Short selling that’s too high, however, may have a positive effect on share price, as short sellers may be forced to cover their stock.

At Insider Monkey, it’s no secret that we watch the smart money’s sentiment, but it’s also crucial to group this information with aggregate short sale information. In certain instances, large investors could disclose that they’re short on a stock, but it’s not an SEC requirement. Nevertheless, some retail investors may wish to stay away from heavily shorted equities with high hedgie investment, while others may prefer short-squeeze opportunities. For those wanting a proven piggybacking strategy, discover the details of our premium strategy.

Let us take a look at the latest data swirling around Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).

Tracking the most recent FINRA data, which is reported two times every month, we can realize that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) sports a short interest of 2.20% of float. This indicates a -19% change from the prior filing period. With a float of 908.08M shares, this reveals a short ratio of 2.00.

It is also beneficial to keep an eye on hedge fund sentiment from their 13F forms. When analyzing the funds we track, Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, holds the biggest position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Citadel Investment Group has a $1.9421 billion call position in the stock, comprising 3.4% of its 13F portfolio. The 2nd biggest stake is held by D. E. Shaw of D E Shaw, with a $1.4017 billion position; the fund has 2.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedgies that are bullish include David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital, Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management and Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management.

Also, bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time period, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review activity in other stocks similar to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). These stocks are Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL). This group of stocks are in the personal computers industry and their market caps are similar to AAPL’s market cap.

This trio of figures–short data, hedge fund info and insider trading history–are what all readers should track. Though it is difficult to formulate a usable strategy from short sale data, the latter two give plenty of market beating opportunities if you know where to look.