Short Interest in iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF (NYSEARCA:IYM) Increases By 208.3%

iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF (NYSEARCA:IYM) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 93,743 shares, an increase of 208.3% from the August 15th total of 30,403 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 72,620 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF Stock Performance

iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF stock traded down $3.32 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $183.24. 40,200 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 219,574. iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF has a 12 month low of $139.08 and a 12 month high of $197.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $184.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.46. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43 and a beta of 0.98.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IYM. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF by 64.2% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 767,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,022,000 after acquiring an additional 300,080 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF by 176.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 374,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,921,000 after purchasing an additional 239,188 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF by 129.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 155,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,917,000 after purchasing an additional 87,723 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF during the first quarter worth $10,112,000. Finally, WealthCare Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF during the first quarter worth $8,780,000.

iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF Company Profile

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.