iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF (NYSEARCA:IYM) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF (NYSEARCA:IYM) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 45,497 shares, a drop of 36.1% from the June 30th total of 71,183 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 270,741 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IYM. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID bought a new position in iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF in the first quarter valued at about $40,000.

iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF Price Performance

Shares of IYM traded down $3.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $175.70. The stock had a trading volume of 185,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 219,290. iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF has a 52 week low of $138.03 and a 52 week high of $191.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $181.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43 and a beta of 0.96.

About iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF

The iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF (IYM) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in materials equity. The fund tracks a broad, market-cap-weighted index of US basic materials companies that includes raw materials such as metals, chemicals and forestry products. IYM was launched on Jun 12, 2000 and is managed by BlackRock.