ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology (NASDAQ:BIB) Short Interest Down 39.8% in March

Key Points

• Short interest in ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology (NASDAQ:BIB) fell 39.8% in March to 11,805 shares, about 1.1% of the float with a days-to-cover ratio of 0.9 days.
• Multiple institutional investors established or increased positions—Franklin Resources, Citadel Advisors, Kaizen Financial, Palumbo Wealth and Laurel Wealth Advisors, the latter boosting its stake by 4,481% to 13,743 shares (≈$630k).
• The fund declared a reduced quarterly dividend of $0.0071 (annualized $0.03) with an ex-dividend date of March 25, and it is a 2x leveraged ETF that targets twice the daily performance of the Nasdaq Biotechnology index, making it unsuitable for long-term investors.

ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology (NASDAQ:BIB - ) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 11,805 shares, a decrease of 39.8% from the February 26th total of 19,619 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 13,601 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BIB. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology in the third quarter worth about $307,000. Kaizen Financial Strategies bought a new position in shares of ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology in the fourth quarter worth approximately $424,000. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology in the 3rd quarter worth $766,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology by 4,481.0% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,743 shares of the exchange traded fund's stock valued at $630,000 after acquiring an additional 13,443 shares in the last quarter.

ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology Stock Down 4.6%

Shares of NASDAQ BIB traded down $3.60 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $74.81. The company had a trading volume of 4,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,904. The stock has a market cap of $78.55 million, a PE ratio of 20.68 and a beta of 1.38. ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology has a one year low of $33.78 and a one year high of $90.90. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $83.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.07.

ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be paid a $0.0071 dividend. This represents a $0.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th.

ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology Company Profile

ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology (the Fund) seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to twice (200%) the daily performance of the Index. The return of the Fund for a period longer than a single trading day will be the result of each day's returns compounded over the period, which will very likely differ from the inverse of the return of the Dow Jones United States Basic Materials Index (the Index) for that period. The Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective over a period of time greater than one day.

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