John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II (HPF) Short Interest Ratio & Short Volume

Short interest is the volume of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II shares that have been sold short but have not yet been closed out or covered. As of November 15th, investors have sold 27,500 shares of HPF short. Learn More on John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II'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. HPF shares currently have a short interest ratio of 1.0. Learn More on John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II's short interest ratio.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II saw a increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totaling 27,500 shares, an increase of 212.5% from the previous total of 8,800 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.

As of the most recent reporting period, the following stocks had the largest short interest positions: RTX Co. ($7.24 billion), T-Mobile US, Inc. ($4.02 billion), Charter Communications, Inc. ($3.72 billion), Occidental Petroleum Co. ($2.80 billion), Lululemon Athletica Inc. ($2.48 billion), Coinbase Global, Inc. ($2.38 billion), Tractor Supply ($2.35 billion), Rivian Automotive, Inc. ($1.79 billion), Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. ($1.73 billion), and Moderna, Inc. ($1.71 billion). View all of the most shorted stocks.

Short selling HPF is an investing strategy that aims to generate trading profit from John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II as its price is falling. HPF shares are trading up $0.03 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 John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II 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 HPF, 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 HPF, twice per month. The most recent reporting period available is November, 15 2023.