The percentage of short sales in S&P 500 healthcare companies jumped in late March compared to February as the life sciences tools and services subsector saw an increase in short interest by compared to the previous month.
The average short interest for the S&P 500 Health Care Index Sector (NYSEARCA:XLIV) rose to 1.57% at the end of March, an increase of 8 basis points above the interest rate of 1.49% at the end of February.
XLV, which has a 12.12% weighting in the broader S&P 500 index, is up 3.39%, trailing the broader S&P 500 index which has climbed 9% year to date .
Industry Analysis:
Average Short Interest as a Percentage of Floating Shares
Life sciences tools and services were the top-selling industry in the healthcare sector at the end of March, toppling the healthcare providers and services subsector which held the top position during the last two months.
The life sciences tools and services sector’s short selling percentage increased 16 basis points from the end of February to 3.24% at the end of March.
The healthcare and service providers sector was the second most shorted sub-sector at the end of March with a short interest rate of 1.90%, down from 1.98% at the end of February.
The pharmaceutical industry continues to be the least shorted sub-sector, with a short selling percentage of 1.23% at the end of March.
Stocks with the highest and lowest short positions
Ranked by short interest as a percentage of stock float
Water Company (WHAT) was the most shorted healthcare company at the end of March, with short interest at 6.42% of the float.
Modern (mRNA) comes just behind with a short interest rate of 6.37% at the end of March, lower than the 6.59% of the previous month.
Moderna was followed by Resmed (RMD), which was the third most shorted company at the end of March, with a short interest of 5.36%.
Eli Lilly (THERE IS), which has the highest weighting in the XLV index, was the least shorted company with a short interest of 0.64%, followed by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) with a short interest of 0.66%.
ThermoFisher Scientific (TMO) also joined the bottom five shorted companies, being the third least shorted company at the end of March with a short percentage of 0.68%.