Short Interest in Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLB) Increases By 108.6%

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLB) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 15,998,475 shares, a growth of 108.6% from the November 30th total of 7,669,481 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 10,962,650 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 12.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 12.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 10,962,650 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. lifted its position in Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 69.3% in the 3rd quarter. Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. now owns 1,636,350 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $146,650,000 after acquiring an additional 670,000 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 6.4% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 853,504 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $74,946,000 after acquiring an additional 51,434 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 47.2% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 806,879 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $70,845,000 after purchasing an additional 258,748 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 8,680.7% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 740,303 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $65,006,000 after purchasing an additional 731,872 shares during the period. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its position in Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 557,865 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $49,992,000 after purchasing an additional 4,262 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.78% of the company’s stock.

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of XLB stock traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $46.11. 5,020,529 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,634,583. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.61. Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund has a 12 month low of $36.56 and a 12 month high of $46.43. The company has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.55 and a beta of 1.03.

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund Company Profile

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Materials Select Sector Index (the Index). The Index includes companies involved in such industries as chemicals; metals and mining; paper and forest products; containers and packaging, and construction materials. The Fund’s investment advisor is SSgA Funds Management, Inc