Western Alliance Bancorporation - WAL Short Interest Ratio & Short Volume

Short interest is the volume of Western Alliance Bancorporation shares that have been sold short but have not yet been closed out or covered. As of February 28th, traders have sold 2,670,000 shares of WAL short. 2.60% of Western Alliance Bancorporation's shares are currently sold short. Learn More on Western Alliance 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. WAL shares currently have a short interest ratio of 3.0. Learn More on Western Alliance 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 Western Alliance Bancorporation: Jane Street Group LLC, Susquehanna International Group LLP, and Concourse Financial Group Securities Inc.. 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. 2.60% of Western Alliance Bancorporation's floating shares are currently sold short.

Western Alliance Bancorporation saw a increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totaling 2,670,000 shares, an increase of 19.7% from the previous total of 2,230,000 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.

Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has issued a total of 109,610,000 shares. Some of Western Alliance 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. Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has a public float of 102,570,000 shares.

2.60% of Western Alliance Bancorporation's shares are currently sold short. Here is how the short interest of companies in the industry of "regional banks" compare to Western Alliance Bancorporation: First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (1.68%), United Community Banks, Inc. (1.89%), Independent Bank Corp. (2.66%), Wintrust Financial Co. (1.88%), International Bancshares Co. (1.53%), Signature Bank (6.02%), Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (3.39%), Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. (4.54%), Cathay General Bancorp (2.70%), and CVB Financial Corp. (3.36%).

As of the most recent reporting period, the following stocks had the largest short interest positions: Suncor Energy Inc. ($3.27 billion), Occidental Petroleum Co. ($2.77 billion), Coinbase Global, Inc. ($2.25 billion), T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. ($2.23 billion), Paramount Global ($1.92 billion), Etsy, Inc. ($1.75 billion), Voya Financial, Inc. ($1.74 billion), CarMax, Inc. ($1.62 billion), Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. ($1.62 billion), and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. ($1.39 billion). View all of the most shorted stocks.

Short selling WAL is an investing strategy that aims to generate trading profit from Western Alliance Bancorporation as its price is falling. WAL shares are trading down $2.11 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 Western Alliance Bancorporation 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 WAL, 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 WAL, twice per month. The most recent reporting period available is February, 28 2023.