Short Interest Plunged In These 5 Stocks During The First 2 Weeks of August

Page 2 of 2

#3 AEGON N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:AEG)

– Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders (as of June 30): 4
– Total Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of June 30): $1.66 million
– Hedge Funds’ Holdings as Percent of Float (as of June 30): 0.01%

AEGON N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:AEG)’s shares on borrow retreated by an inauspicious 66.6%, to 3.11 million from July 29 to August 15. One potential reason for the short drop could be that AEGON reported a second quarter net loss of €385 million on revenue of €2.77 billion (up by 18.4% year-over-year). In U.S. dollar terms, that’s a net loss of $431 million on revenue of $3.1 billion. Although AEGON lost money, the results might have been better than the short expectations, leading the short investors to take profits. AEGON shares are down by over 32% in 2016.

Follow Aegon N.v. (NYSE:AEG)

#2 FleetMatics Group PLC (NYSE:FLTX)

– Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders (as of June 30): 11
– Total Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of June 30): $67.73 million
– Hedge Funds’ Holdings as Percent of Float (as of June 30): 4.00%

Bearish investors pared their wagers in FleetMatics Group PLC (NYSE:FLTX) by 74.2%, or 2.69 million shares from July 29 to August 15, mainly due to the news that Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) agreed to buy Fleetmatics for $60 in cash per share on August 1. Given that most investors expect the deal to close successfully and given Verizon’s rock-solid balance sheet and stable income streams, the short case for FleetMatics just isn’t there anymore.

Follow Fleetmatics Group Plc (NYSE:FLTX)

#1 American Equity Investment Life Holding (NYSE:AEL)

– Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders (as of June 30): 17
– Total Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of June 30): $84.86 million
– Hedge Funds’ Holdings as Percent of Float (as of June 30): 7.20%

With the short interest in the stock dropping by a whopping 74.8% in the 17 day-period beginning July 29, American Equity Investment Life Holding (NYSE:AEL) is the most-widely covered stock on our list. The company, which is a leading issuer of fixed index annuities, reported second quarter net income of $0.18 per share and second quarter annuity sales of $2.1 billion, the latter being up by 17% from the second quarter of 2015. Richard S. Pzena‘s Pzena Investment Management more than tripled its stake in American Equity Investment during the second quarter, to 2.68 million shares.

Follow American Equity Investment Life Holding Co (NYSE:AEL)

Disclosure: None

Page 2 of 2