Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Short Interest Ratio & Short Volume

Short interest is the volume of Merck & Co., Inc. shares that have been sold short but have not yet been closed out or covered. As of April 15th, traders have sold 20,430,000 shares of MRK short. Learn More on Merck & Co., Inc.'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. MRK shares currently have a short interest ratio of 2.0. Learn More on Merck & Co., Inc.'s short interest ratio.

As of the most recent reporting period, the following institutional investors, funds, and major shareholders have reported short positions of Merck & Co., Inc.: Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC, Simplex Trading LLC, Readystate Asset Management LP, Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P., BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd, Citadel Advisors LLC, Point72 Asset Management L.P., Balyasny Asset Management L.P., Eisler Capital US LLC, Eisler Capital UK Ltd., Capstone Investment Advisors LLC, Allianz Asset Management GmbH, Mendel Money Management, IMC Chicago LLC, One River Asset Management LLC, Wells Fargo & Company MN, UBS Group AG, BNP Paribas Financial Markets, Gladius Capital Management LP, Concourse Financial Group Securities Inc., CTC LLC, Genus Capital Management Inc., Simplex Trading LLC, XR Securities LLC, Wolverine Asset Management LLC, and SpiderRock Advisors LLC. These positions are disclosed in Form 13F filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Merck & Co., Inc. saw a increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 20,430,000 shares, an increase of 4.3% from the previous total of 19,590,000 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.

Here is how the short interest of companies in the sector of "medical" compare to Merck & Co., Inc.: AbbVie Inc. (0.76%), Johnson & Johnson (0.69%), Pfizer Inc. (1.20%), Bristol-Myers Squibb (1.69%), Eli Lilly and Company (0.65%), AstraZeneca PLC (0.28%), Novartis AG (0.19%), Abbott Laboratories (0.75%), Sanofi (0.13%), Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (1.56%),

As of the most recent reporting period, the following stocks had the largest short interest positions: T-Mobile US, Inc. ($3.70 billion), Occidental Petroleum Co. ($3.52 billion), Charter Communications, Inc. ($3.14 billion), General Motors ($2.68 billion), Coinbase Global, Inc. ($2.57 billion), Moderna, Inc. ($2.18 billion), Tractor Supply ($2.10 billion), Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. ($1.91 billion), TC Energy Co. ($1.90 billion), and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. ($1.78 billion). View all of the most shorted stocks.

Short selling MRK is an investing strategy that aims to generate trading profit from Merck & Co., Inc. as its price is falling. MRK shares are trading up $3.71 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 Merck & Co., Inc. 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 MRK, 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 MRK, twice per month. The most recent reporting period available is April, 15 2024.