First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (NASDAQ:QQEW) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in QQEW surged to 26,595 shares as of July 15, up 285.9% from June 30, though short positions still represent just 0.2% of shares outstanding.
• The ETF fell $0.65 to $151.03 in Friday trading, with volume of 39,026 shares versus an average of 50,547; it has a market cap of $1.70 billion and trades below its 50-day average but above its 200-day average.
• Institutional investors were mostly adding exposure in recent quarters, including increases from Jane Street Group, NewEdge Advisors, Ausdal Financial Partners, and a new position from Darwin Wealth Management, while BNP Paribas Financial Markets doubled its stake.

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (NASDAQ:QQEW - ) was the target of a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 26,595 shares, an increase of 285.9% from the June 30th total of 6,892 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 31,567 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days.

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund Price Performance

QQEW traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $151.03. 39,026 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 50,547. The company has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $154.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.36. First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund has a one year low of $122.38 and a one year high of $162.19.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 29.1% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 11,232 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,358,000 after purchasing an additional 2,531 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 4.7% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 22,598 shares of the company's stock worth $3,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund during the second quarter worth $6,684,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its position in First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 3.6% during the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 9,719 shares of the company's stock worth $1,327,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 100.0% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 100,000 shares of the company's stock worth $13,649,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter.

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund Company Profile

The First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (QQEW) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NASDAQ-100 Equally Weighted index. The fund tracks an equal-weighted version of the NASDAQ 100. QQEW was launched on Apr 19, 2006 and is managed by First Trust.

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