iShares MSCI South Africa ETF (NYSEARCA:EZA) Short Interest Up 182.2% in January

iShares MSCI South Africa ETF (NYSEARCA:EZA) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,304,564 shares, a growth of 182.2% from the January 15th total of 462,327 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 513,771 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 12.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 12.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 513,771 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Institutional Trading of iShares MSCI South Africa ETF

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EZA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI South Africa ETF by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 987,680 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $67,952,000 after buying an additional 104,291 shares during the last quarter. Trium Capital LLP acquired a new position in shares of iShares MSCI South Africa ETF during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,578,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new stake in iShares MSCI South Africa ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,138,000. One Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in iShares MSCI South Africa ETF by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 31,141 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $2,142,000 after purchasing an additional 3,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in iShares MSCI South Africa ETF by 386.7% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 27,327 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 21,712 shares during the period.

iShares MSCI South Africa ETF Stock Performance

EZA traded up $1.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.32. The stock had a trading volume of 202,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 445,334. The stock has a market capitalization of $783.33 million, a P/E ratio of 14.34 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.52. iShares MSCI South Africa ETF has a 52 week low of $39.74 and a 52 week high of $81.19.

About iShares MSCI South Africa ETF

iShares MSCI South Africa ETF, formerly iShares MSCI South Africa Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded securities in the aggregate in the South African market, as measured by the MSCI South Africa Index (the Index). The Index seeks to measure the performance of the South African equity market. The Index is a capitalization-weighted index that aims to capture 85% of the (publicly available) total market capitalization.