ConocoPhillips Short Interest Ratio and Short Volume

Short interest is the volume of ConocoPhillips shares that have been sold short but have not yet been covered or closed out. As of December 31st, investors have sold 41,590,000 shares of COP short. 3.89% of ConocoPhillips' shares are currently sold short. View details.

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. ConocoPhillips currently has a short interest ratio of 3.0.

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. 3.89% of ConocoPhillips' floating shares are currently sold short.

ConocoPhillips saw a increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 41,590,000 shares, an increase of 7.3% from the previous total of 38,770,000 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.

ConocoPhillips currently has issued a total of 1,072,742,000 shares. Some of ConocoPhillips' 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. ConocoPhillips currently has a public float of 1,070,000,000 shares.

3.89% of ConocoPhillips' shares are currently sold short. Here is how the short interest of companies in the sub-industry of "oil & gas exploration & production" compare to ConocoPhillips: EOG Resources, Inc. (0.00%), Pioneer Natural Resources (3.61%), Concho Resources Inc. (3.42%), Diamondback Energy, Inc. (4.84%), Cabot Oil & Gas Co. (4.62%), Devon Energy Co. (4.40%), Continental Resources, Inc. (27.33%), Marathon Oil Co. (6.19%), WPX Energy, Inc. (7.02%), and Cimarex Energy Co. (2.99%).

As of the most recent reporting period, the following stocks had the largest short interest positions: Charter Communications, Inc. ($5.18 billion), ViacomCBS Inc. ($4.71 billion), Analog Devices, Inc. ($4.45 billion), Aon Plc ($4.28 billion), Snap Inc. ($3.70 billion), Moderna, Inc. ($3.00 billion), The Clorox Company ($2.46 billion), Peloton Interactive, Inc. ($2.40 billion), The Kroger Co. ($2.38 billion), and Expedia Group, Inc. ($2.37 billion). View all of the most shorted stocks.

Short selling COP is an investing strategy that aims to generate trading profit from ConocoPhillips as its price is falling. ConocoPhillips' stock is trading down $2.75 today. To short ConocoPhillips 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 ConocoPhillips 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 ConocoPhillips occurs when it has a large amount of short interest and its stock increases in price. This forces short sellers to cover their short interest positions by buying actual shares of COP, 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 COP, twice per month. The most recent reporting period available is December, 31 2020.