Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLB) Short Interest Update

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLB) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 23,098,271 shares, an increase of 32.9% from the December 31st total of 17,376,558 shares. Approximately 19.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 15,945,364 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 15,945,364 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 19.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 102.4% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 156,400 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $13,734,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,929 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 107.0% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 76,261 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $6,696,000 after buying an additional 1,167,514 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,640,000 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $74,374,000 after buying an additional 820,000 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 8,680.7% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 740,303 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $65,006,000 after acquiring an additional 731,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. boosted its position in Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 69.3% during the third quarter. Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. now owns 1,636,350 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $146,650,000 after acquiring an additional 670,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.78% of the company’s stock.

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund Stock Performance

XLB stock traded up $0.40 on Monday, reaching $49.67. The company had a trading volume of 21,927,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,420,811. Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund has a 1 year low of $36.56 and a 1 year high of $50.62. The company’s fifty day moving average is $46.44 and its 200 day moving average is $45.25. The company has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.55 and a beta of 1.03.

About Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Materials Select Sector Index (the Index). The Index includes companies involved in such industries as chemicals; metals and mining; paper and forest products; containers and packaging, and construction materials. The Fund’s investment advisor is SSgA Funds Management, Inc