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

Key Points

• Short interest in QQEW fell 33.2% to 21,601 shares as of August 14, from 32,321 shares on July 30. Short interest represents approximately 0.2% of shares outstanding, with a short-interest ratio of 0.5 days.
• Several institutional investors increased their QQEW positions, led by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co., which expanded its holdings by 5,583%, while Wells Fargo and LPL Financial also added shares.
• QQEW shares declined 2.1% to $161.63 in Tuesday trading, though the ETF remained near its 52-week high of $167.26 and above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (NASDAQ:QQEW - ) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 21,601 shares, a decline of 33.2% from the July 30th total of 32,321 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 42,931 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company's stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in QQEW. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,072,634 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,453,000 after buying an additional 84,828 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 687,617 shares of the company's stock worth $97,730,000 after purchasing an additional 11,494 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 5,583.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 416,223 shares of the company's stock worth $55,653,000 after purchasing an additional 408,899 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 325,369 shares of the company's stock worth $46,245,000 after buying an additional 7,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 271,074 shares of the company's stock worth $38,528,000 after buying an additional 2,481 shares during the last quarter.

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund Trading Down 2.1%

QQEW stock traded down $3.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $161.63. The company had a trading volume of 248,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,176. The company has a 50 day moving average of $158.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18 and a beta of 1.08. First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund has a 1 year low of $122.38 and a 1 year high of $167.26.

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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