Watsco Short Interest Ratio and Short Volume

Short interest is the volume of Watsco shares that have been sold short but have not yet been closed out or covered. As of March 31st, traders have sold 1,620,000 shares of WSO short.

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. Watsco currently has a short interest ratio of 8.0.

Watsco saw a decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,620,000 shares, a decrease of 4.1% from the previous total of 1,690,000 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.

0.00% of Watsco's shares are currently sold short. Here is how the short interest of companies in the sub-industry of "trading companies & distributors" compare to Watsco: Fastenal (2.70%), United Rentals, Inc. (3.74%), W.W. Grainger, Inc. (1.74%), Air Lease Co. (4.83%), MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (0.00%), WESCO International, Inc. (3.25%), Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (4.29%), Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (1.36%), GATX Co. (11.88%), and Rush Enterprises, Inc. (0.00%).

As of the most recent reporting period, the following stocks had the largest short interest positions: Analog Devices, Inc. ($5.84 billion), Aon plc ($5.47 billion), Charter Communications, Inc. ($5.36 billion), ViacomCBS Inc. ($3.99 billion), Snap Inc. ($3.77 billion), Airbnb, Inc. ($2.90 billion), Peloton Interactive, Inc. ($2.43 billion), Discovery, Inc. ($2.38 billion), The Kroger Co. ($2.28 billion), and Expedia Group, Inc. ($2.18 billion). View all of the most shorted stocks.

Short selling WSO is an investing strategy that aims to generate trading profit from Watsco as its price is falling. Watsco's stock is trading up $2.64 today. To short Watsco 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 Watsco 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 Watsco 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 WSO, 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 WSO, twice per month. The most recent reporting period available is March, 31 2021.