iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (NYSEARCA:EWU) Short Interest Up 291.5% in May

iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (NYSEARCA:EWU) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 9,432,179 shares, an increase of 291.5% from the May 14th total of 2,409,051 shares. Currently, 12.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,562,810 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 117.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,707,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,472,000 after purchasing an additional 2,539,863 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 134.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,326,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,689,000 after purchasing an additional 759,844 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 23.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,663,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,520,000 after purchasing an additional 686,519 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in shares of iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 101.0% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 6,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 640,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its position in shares of iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 26,300.2% in the fourth quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 506,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,323,000 after purchasing an additional 504,174 shares during the last quarter. 58.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF Stock Performance

EWU stock traded up $1.09 during trading on Thursday, reaching $46.90. 1,260,616 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,015,513. iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF has a 52-week low of $38.74 and a 52-week high of $48.92. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $46.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.82.

About iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF

The iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (EWU) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI United Kingdom index. The fund tracks a market cap-weighted index of British companies. It covers the top 85% of British companies by market cap. EWU was launched on Mar 12, 1996 and is managed by BlackRock.