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Short percentage in S&P 500’s healthcare companies rose at the end of May from April as biotechnology industry continued to emerge as the most shorted sector, again seeing a significant jump in short interest.
The average short interest for S&P 500 Health Care Index Sector (NYSEARCA:XLV) went up 8 basis points to 1.53% at the end of May, from 1.45% interest at the end of April.
XLV, which has a 12.12% weightage in the broader S&P 500 index, gained 1.38% in the last month, trailing behind the S&P 500 index's (SP500) gain of 3.81%.
Industry analysis:
Average short Interest as percentage of floating shares
Biotechnology was the most shorted industry in the healthcare index in May for second time in a row.
Short interest in Biotechnology industry rose to 2.01% from 1.85% in April.
Healthcare provider and services industry was the second-most shorted industry which climbed to 1.91% in May.
This was closely followed by Life science tools and services industry which was the third most shorted sub-sector at the end of May with short interest of 1.90%, rising from 1.72%.
Pharmaceuticals industry continued to be the least shorted sub-sector with 1.32% short percentage of float.
Stocks with highest and lowest short positions
Ranked by short interest as a percentage of shares float
ResMed (RMD) was the most shorted healthcare company at May-end, with short interest at 6.72%.
Moderna (MRNA) came in second with a short interest of 5.99%, falling from previous month’s 6.26%.
Waters Corp (WAT) was the third most shorted company, with a short interest of 5.94%.
Eli Lilly (LLY), which has the highest weightage in the XLV index, was the least shorted company with a short interest of 0.72%, followed by Becton Dickinson (BDX) with a short interest of 0.77%.
Elevance Health (ELV) was the third most shorted company, while Merck & Co (MRK) stood at fourth, in the month of May.