Short percentage in S&P 500’s healthcare companies rose slightly at the end of June from May as biotechnology industry continued to emerge as the most shorted sector, while most other sectors saw meager change in interest from last month.
The average short interest for S&P 500 Health Care Index Sector (NYSEARCA:XLV) went up 4 basis points to 1.58% at the end of May, from 1.54% interest at the end of April.
XLV, which has a 12.12% weightage in the broader S&P 500 index, gained 1.52% in the last month, trailing behind the S&P 500 index’s (SP500) gain of 3.59%.
Industry analysis:
Average short Interest as percentage of floating shares
Biotechnology was the most shorted industry in the healthcare index in June for third time in a row. Short interest in this sub-sector rose to 2.10% from 2.01% in May.
Healthcare provider and services and Life Sciences tools and services tied for the second spot, with short interest of 1.89% in June each.
Pharmaceuticals industry continued to be the least shorted sub-sector with 1.36% short percentage of float.
Stocks with highest and lowest short positions
Ranked by short interest as a percentage of shares float
Incyte (INCY) was the most shorted healthcare company at June-end, with short interest at 7.54%. Moderna (MRNA) came in second with a short interest of 6.57%, followed by Bio-Rad Laboratories (BIO) with a short interest of 6.50%.
Eli Lilly (LLY), which has the highest weightage in the XLV index, was the least shorted company with a short interest of 0.70%, followed by Abbott Laboratories (ABT) with a short interest of 0.75%.
Boston Scientific (BSX) was the third least shorted company in the month of June, with short percentage of 0.77%.