ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (NASDAQ:SQQQ) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 19.4% in March to 5,663,103 shares, representing about 15.6% of the float and a days-to-cover ratio of just 0.1 due to very high average daily volume.
• Shares traded down to $56.83 (near the 12-month low of $56.04) with a 50-day/200-day moving average of $72.75/$70.73, and the fund recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.6384 ($2.55 annualized) for a ~4.5% yield.
• Several institutional investors materially changed positions—Hamilton Wealth and Tower Research notably increased holdings—and the ETF seeks daily results equal to three times the inverse of the NASDAQ-100 using derivatives.

ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (NASDAQ:SQQQ - ) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,663,103 shares, a growth of 19.4% from the March 15th total of 4,741,138 shares. Currently, 15.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 58,765,174 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.1 days.

ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ Price Performance

NASDAQ SQQQ traded down $1.78 on Friday, hitting $56.83. 54,362,122 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,427,320. ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ has a twelve month low of $56.04 and a twelve month high of $214.40. The company's 50 day moving average price is $72.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.73.

ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $0.6384 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $2.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ during the fourth quarter worth about $431,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ during the 4th quarter valued at about $137,000. Hamilton Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ by 1,087.5% during the 4th quarter. Hamilton Wealth LLC now owns 118,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,135,000 after purchasing an additional 108,754 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,322,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ by 1,636.9% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 41,217 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,823,000 after purchasing an additional 38,844 shares in the last quarter.

ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ Company Profile

ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (the Fund) seeks daily investment results, which corresponds to three times the inverse of the daily performance of the NASDAQ-100 Index (the Index). The Index includes 100 of the non-financial domestic and international issues listed on National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (NASDAQ) Stock Market. The Fund invests in derivatives. It also invests in short-term cash instruments, which have a remaining maturity of 397 days or less and exhibit high quality credit profiles.

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