Westamerica Bancorporation (WABC) Short Interest Ratio & Short Volume

Short interest is the volume of Westamerica Bancorporation shares that have been sold short but have not yet been covered or closed out. As of May 15th, investors have sold 696,500 shares of WABC short. 2.72% of Westamerica Bancorporation's shares are currently sold short. Learn More on Westamerica Bancorporation's current short interest.

The short interest ratio, also known as the "days to cover ratio", is calculated by dividing the number of shares of a stock sold short divided by its average trading volume. A short interest ratio ranging between 1 and 4 generally indicates strong positive sentiment about a stock and a lack of short sellers. A short interest ratio of 10 or greater indicates strong pessimism about a stock. WABC shares currently have a short interest ratio of 3.0. Learn More on Westamerica Bancorporation's short interest ratio.

As of the most recent reporting period, the following institutional investors, funds, and major shareholders have reported short positions of Westamerica Bancorporation: Simplex Trading LLC. These positions are disclosed in Form 13F filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Companies that have a short interest as a percentage of float below 10% indicates positive investor sentiment and few short sellers. Stocks with a short interest percentage above 10% is considered high, suggesting some investors are pessimistic about the stock. Companies with a short interest percentage of 20% or more indicates widespread negative sentiment. 2.72% of Westamerica Bancorporation's floating shares are currently sold short.

Westamerica Bancorporation saw a increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 696,500 shares, an increase of 50.7% from the previous total of 462,200 shares. Changes in short volume can be used to identify positive and negative investor sentiment. Investors that short sell a stock are betting that its price will decline in the future. An increase in short sale volume suggests bearish (negative) sentiment among investors. A decrease on short sale volume suggests bullish (positive) sentiment.

Westamerica Bancorporation currently has issued a total of 26,650,000 shares. Some of Westamerica Bancorporation's outstanding shares are available for trading, while others are subject to various restrictions. The public float, also referred to as floating shares or "the float", are shares that publicly owned, unrestricted and available to trade on the open market. Westamerica Bancorporation currently has a public float of 25,620,000 shares.

2.72% of Westamerica Bancorporation's shares are currently sold short. Here is how the short interest of companies in the industry of "national commercial banks" compare to Westamerica Bancorporation: Hope Bancorp, Inc. (3.21%), Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (3.46%), National Bank Holdings Co. (2.51%), PacWest Bancorp (24.09%), Trustmark Co. (2.16%), First Commonwealth Financial Co. (2.33%), City Holding (7.07%), WesBanco, Inc. (3.24%), NBT Bancorp Inc. (2.80%), First Merchants Co. (1.19%),

As of the most recent reporting period, the following stocks had the largest short interest positions: Enbridge Inc. ($4.29 billion), T-Mobile US, Inc. ($4.17 billion), Charter Communications, Inc. ($3.07 billion), Occidental Petroleum Co. ($2.81 billion), Moderna, Inc. ($2.37 billion), Coinbase Global, Inc. ($2.27 billion), T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. ($1.98 billion), Verisk Analytics, Inc. ($1.94 billion), Extra Space Storage Inc. ($1.88 billion), and Xylem Inc. ($1.61 billion). View all of the most shorted stocks.

Short selling WABC is an investing strategy that aims to generate trading profit from Westamerica Bancorporation as its price is falling. WABC shares are trading up $1.53 today. To short a stock, an investor borrows shares, sells them and buys the shares back on the public market later to return it to the lender. Short sellers are betting that a stock will decline in price. If the stock does drop after selling, the short seller buys it back at a lower price and returns it to the lender. The difference between the sell price and the buy price is the trader's profit.

A short squeeze for Westamerica Bancorporation occurs when it has a large amount of short interest and its stock appreciates in price. This forces short sellers to cover their short interest positions by buying actual shares of WABC, which in turn drives the price of the stock up even further.

Short interest is typically published by a stock exchange once per month. However, NASDAQ publishes a report for U.S. stocks, including WABC, twice per month. The most recent reporting period available is May, 15 2023.