Short interest in the domestic market increased by $26.2 billion, or +2.73%, to $986 billion in December 2022. The increase in short interest was due to a down-trending market in December (S&P 500 down -5.90%, Nasdaq down -8.73% and Russell 3000 down -5.99%) causing a $65.8 billion decrease in the stock price of shares shorted which was more than offset by $91.9 billion of new short selling.

In December, Short sellers were actively shorting into a declining market, more than reversing the $34 billion of short covering we saw in November.

The sectors with the largest increase in short exposure were Health Care (+$6.7 billion), Industrials (+$5.0 billion) and Financials (+$4.1 billion). Three sectors had a decrease in short exposure in the December, short interest in the Consumer Discretionary sector was down -$5.1 billion, Energy sector was down $812 million, and the Misc. (SPACs) sector was down $201 million.

Short exposure continues to be concentrated in several sectors: Information Technology ($183 billion), Consumer Discretionary ($148 billion) and Health Care ($132 billion).

Sector

11/30/2022 Short Interest

12/30/2022 Short Interest

December Total Change

December MTM Change

December Change Shares Shorted

Communication Services

$64,591,585,387

$68,088,411,976

$3,496,826,589

($4,271,358,930)

$7,768,185,519

Consumer Discretionary

$153,422,132,345

$148,354,582,256

($5,067,550,089)

($17,060,359,092)

$11,992,809,003

Consumer Staples

$43,779,138,520

$46,368,391,193

$2,589,252,673

($1,877,465,899)

$4,466,718,572

Energy

$79,039,494,693

$78,227,226,990

($812,267,703)

($5,021,602,684)

$4,209,334,981

Financials

$111,348,410,619

$115,450,933,436

$4,102,522,817

($7,657,098,095)

$11,759,620,912

Health Care

$125,806,523,297

$132,479,949,435

$6,673,426,138

($4,015,220,756)

$10,688,646,894

Industrials

$100,030,609,194

$104,997,237,791

$4,966,628,597

($5,770,781,965)

$10,737,410,562

Information Technology

$180,223,862,622

$182,517,543,303

$2,293,680,681

($15,153,682,819)

$17,447,363,500

Materials

$40,643,321,767

$42,040,678,366

$1,397,356,599

($1,352,230,181)

$2,749,586,780

Misc. (SPACs)

$507,388,688

$306,465,903

($200,922,785)

($191,451,031)

($9,471,754)

Real Estate

$37,390,031,138

$41,166,566,455

$3,776,535,317

($2,662,716,798)

$6,439,252,115

Utilities

$23,389,730,343

$26,364,325,258

$2,974,594,915

($721,222,973)

$3,695,817,888

Total U.S.\Can Short Interest

$960,172,228,612

$986,362,312,362

$26,190,083,750

($65,755,191,221)

$91,945,274,971

In order to get more clarity on the changes in short exposure in the market we look into the seventy Industries that make up the twelve market sectors. The twenty industries with the largest short interest are:

Industry

11/30/2022 Short Interest

12/30/2022 Short Interest

December Total Change

Change %

Oil Gas & Consumable Fuels

$73,111,895,853

$71,173,225,555

($1,938,670,298)

-2.65%

Software

$54,320,933,068

$56,895,045,914

$2,574,112,846

4.74%

Banks

$45,975,992,157

$48,462,094,005

$2,486,101,848

5.41%

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment

$46,995,736,942

$47,877,510,509

$881,773,567

1.88%

Biotechnology

$42,817,392,208

$44,408,698,424

$1,591,306,216

3.72%

IT Services

$41,835,630,976

$41,810,387,934

($25,243,042)

-0.06%

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

$32,673,187,955

$36,797,961,140

$4,124,773,185

12.62%

Specialty Retail

$34,145,382,812

$34,866,080,448

$720,697,636

2.11%

Capital Markets

$30,149,276,627

$30,502,924,976

$353,648,349

1.17%

Hotels Restaurants & Leisure

$29,127,945,206

$29,449,569,953

$321,624,747

1.10%

Health Care Equipment & Supplies

$24,457,015,731

$27,078,828,558

$2,621,812,827

10.72%

Internet & Direct Marketing Retail

$25,439,381,438

$25,144,654,970

($294,726,468)

-1.16%

Health Care Providers & Services

$20,940,416,853

$23,718,399,413

$2,777,982,560

13.27%

Pharmaceuticals

$23,843,594,366

$23,304,192,200

($539,402,166)

-2.26%

Technology Hardware Storage & Peripherals

$23,992,518,344

$22,401,500,790

($1,591,017,554)

-6.63%

Insurance

$19,501,474,039

$20,640,386,138

$1,138,912,099

5.84%

Interactive Media & Services

$18,681,510,284

$20,310,862,580

$1,629,352,296

8.72%

Metals & Mining

$20,358,824,443

$20,038,757,884

($320,066,559)

-1.57%

Automobiles

$26,699,162,435

$19,794,049,616

($6,905,112,819)

-25.86%

Entertainment

$17,223,406,605

$19,064,978,726

$1,841,572,121

10.69%

The ten Industries with the largest increase in December short selling were:

Industry

12/30/2022 Short Interest

December Total Change

December MTM Change

December Change Shares Shorted

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

$36,797,961,140

$4,124,773,185

($2,043,942,830)

$6,168,716,015

Software

$56,895,045,914

$2,574,112,846

($3,593,158,821)

$6,167,271,667

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment

$47,877,510,509

$881,773,567

($5,232,576,351)

$6,114,349,918

Banks

$48,462,094,005

$2,486,101,848

($3,007,431,588)

$5,493,533,436

Health Care Providers & Services

$23,718,399,413

$2,777,982,560

($907,734,775)

$3,685,717,335

Hotels Restaurants & Leisure

$29,449,569,953

$321,624,747

($2,921,368,022)

$3,242,992,769

Oil Gas & Consumable Fuels

$71,173,225,555

($1,938,670,298)

($5,132,201,554)

$3,193,531,256

Health Care Equipment & Supplies

$27,078,828,558

$2,621,812,827

($554,567,531)

$3,176,380,358

Capital Markets

$30,502,924,976

$353,648,349

($2,732,251,192)

$3,085,899,541

Entertainment

$19,064,978,726

$1,841,572,121

($1,164,244,697)

$3,005,816,818

There were only three Industries with short covering in December:

Industry

12/30/2022 Short Interest

December Total Change

December MTM Change

December Change Shares Shorted

Marine

$1,510,804,843

($76,075,368)

($28,155,087)

($47,920,281)

Distributors

$1,961,912,679

($147,040,268)

($132,851,599)

($14,188,669)

SPAC

$306,465,903

($200,922,785)

($191,451,031)

($9,471,754)

The following are the stocks that had the largest amount of increased short selling in December in the Industries with the top-ten largest increases in short selling.

Equity REITs Industry:

Equity REITs

Ticker

12/30/2022

Change

MTM Change

Change Shs Shorted

Realty Income Corp

O US

$1,757,587,579

$502,237,380

$7,165,469

$495,071,911

Prologis Inc

PLD US

$1,647,521,669

$282,494,468

($58,638,574)

$341,133,042

Alexandria Real Estate Equities

ARE US

$558,717,139

$271,788,949

($18,328,297)

$290,117,246

Digital Realty Trust Inc

DLR US

$1,137,585,009

$165,304,207

($105,389,498)

$270,693,705

Medical Properties Trust Inc

MPW US

$1,129,338,633

$104,220,264

($154,705,364)

$258,925,628

Agree realty Corp

ADC US

$649,604,177

$261,178,542

$5,441,846

$255,736,696

Equinix Inc

EQIX US

$1,382,974,664

$179,069,498

($62,090,932)

$241,160,430

Welltower Inc

WELL US

$872,460,209

$184,220,777

($53,098,016)

$237,318,793

Extra Space Storage Inc

EXR US

$838,549,514

$164,001,979

($56,712,534)

$220,714,513

Weyerhaeuser Co

WY US

$568,347,676

$191,877,950

($19,680,930)

$211,558,880

UDR Inc

UDR US

$147,070,436

($45,414,518)

($12,717,839)

($32,696,679)

Industry Total

$36,797,961,140

$4,124,773,185

($2,043,942,830)

$6,168,716,015

Software Industry:

Software

Ticker

12/30/2022

Change

MTM Change

Change Shs Shorted

Intuit Inc

INTU US

$1,233,469,707

$478,445,508

($34,028,789)

$512,474,297

Microsoft Corp

MSFT US

$10,150,305,237

($168,923,913)

($619,622,915)

$450,699,002

Adobe Inc

ADBE US

$1,708,632,808

$413,779,730

($31,533,256)

$445,312,986

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc

CRWD US

$1,052,388,712

$274,681,505

($81,703,876)

$356,385,381

VMWare Inc

VMW US

$1,251,424,524

$347,465,909

$9,449,564

$338,016,345

Ceridian HCM Holding Inc

CDAY US

$1,126,686,978

$250,682,833

($54,910,254)

$305,593,087

Datadog Inc

DDOG US

$1,168,919,010

$263,527,305

($27,240,606)

$290,767,911

Zscaler Inc

ZS US

$943,673,290

$138,198,449

($130,071,059)

$268,269,508

Synopsys Inc

SNPS US

$792,822,613

$223,821,141

($33,934,971)

$257,756,112

Oracle Corp

ORCL US

$1,505,858,256

$234,356,348

($19,754,757)

$254,111,105

Constellation Software Inc

CSU CN

$217,923,743

($102,036,476)

($8,636,125)

($93,400,351)

Industry Total

$56,895,045,914

$2,574,112,846

($3,593,158,821)

$6,167,271,667

Semiconductor & Semiconductor Equipment Industry:

Semi & Semi Equipment

Ticker

12/30/2022

Change

MTM Change

Change Shs Shorted

KLA Corp

KLAC US

$2,144,099,105

$936,112,705

($49,530,055)

$985,642,760

Advanced Micro Devices Inc

AMD US

$2,553,279,128

$173,632,319

($394,206,595)

$567,838,914

Microchip Technology Inc

MCHP US

$1,525,264,207

$414,221,380

($125,429,004)

$539,650,384

ON Semiconductor Inc

ON US

$1,777,652,276

$195,225,670

($269,980,497)

$465,206,167

Broadcom Inc

AVGO US

$3,105,991,193

$421,605,017

$39,459,791

$382,145,226

Lam Research Corp

LRCX US

$1,351,936,980

$163,978,278

($130,972,711)

$294,950,989

Intel Corp

INTC US

$2,069,573,213

$48,226,587

($244,685,791)

$292,912,378

Applied Materials Inc

AMAT US

$1,624,793,383

$119,678,613

($167,814,803)

$287,493,416

Entegris Inc

ENTG US

$739,416,075

$190,730,732

($83,058,850)

$273,789,582

Wolfspeed Inc

WOLF US

$1,050,406,111

($6,010,371)

($254,227,812)

$248,217,441

Taiwan Semiconductor

TSM US

$1,485,972,003

($436,278,533)

($196,672,733)

($239,605,800)

Industry Total

$47,877,510,509

$881,773,567

($5,232,576,351)

$6,114,349,918

Banks Industry:

Banks

Ticker

12/30/2022

Change

MTM Change

Change Shs Shorted

Royal Bank of Canada

RY US

$1,989,518,202

$534,221,614

($84,009,905)

$618,231,519

Bank of Nova Scotia

BNS US

$1,290,973,501

$499,868,094

($48,799,988)

$548,668,082

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

CM US

$984,376,517

$420,410,539

($90,384,416)

$510,794,955

Toronto-Dominion Bank

TD US

$1,223,483,610

$358,658,414

($25,657,086)

$384,315,500

Bank of America Corp

BAC US

$1,924,242,788

$89,999,578

($229,219,825)

$319,219,403

Royal Bank of Canada

RY CN

$1,073,192,871

$232,871,844

($42,205,503)

$275,077,347

Bank of Montreal

BMO CN

$1,583,605,876

$165,852,260

($96,586,110)

$262,438,370

Truist Financial Corp

TFC US

$758,661,155

$154,619,345

($48,777,570)

$203,396,915

M&T Bank Corp

MTB US

$639,866,333

$123,943,873

($75,740,646)

$199,684,519

Signature Bank

SBNY US

$419,489,750

$90,019,208

($57,344,407)

$147,363,615

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

CM CN

$1,397,811,316

($453,192,134)

($289,201,072)

($163,991,062)

Industry Total

$48,462,094,005

$2,486,101,848

($3,007,431,588)

$5,493,533,436

Health Care Providers & Services Industry:

Health Care Prov & Svcs

Ticker

12/30/2022

Change

MTM Change

Change Shs Shorted

UnitedHealth Group Inc

UNH US

$3,678,345,895

$1,201,253,572

($79,500,663)

$1,280,754,235

AmerisourceBergen Corp

ABC US

$880,548,969

$272,638,070

($17,736,226)

$290,374,296

McKessen Corp

MCK US

$1,147,167,226

$250,308,539

($15,414,465)

$265,723,004

Elevance Health Inc

ELV US

$1,221,060,451

$180,528,289

($38,952,594)

$219,480,883

Humana Inc

HUM US

$1,529,519,192

$116,348,229

($96,909,760)

$213,257,989

Molina Healthcare Inc

MOH US

$512,915,206

$161,342,481

($6,837,905)

$168,180,386

Cigna Corp

CI US

$1,113,782,180

$148,502,528

$7,190,657

$141,311,871

R1 RCM Inc

RCM US

$291,804,502

$142,126,851

$31,424,037

$110,702,814

Centene Corp

CNC US

$652,714,720

$67,257,508

($33,896,660)

$101,154,168

Quest Diagnostics Inc

DGX US

$663,892,876

($28,899,519)

$21,035,190

($49,934,709)

Industry Total

$23,718,399,413

$2,777,982,560

($907,734,775)

$3,685,717,335

Hotel, Restaurants & Leisure Industry:

Hotels Restaurants & Leisure

Ticker

12/30/2022

Change

MTM Change

Change Shs Shorted

Starbucks Corp

SBUX US

$2,141,011,974

$707,992,905

($42,065,140)

$750,058,045

Booking Holdings Inc

BKNG US

$1,455,509,781

$284,544,453

($36,134,962)

$320,679,415

McDonald's Corp

MCD US

$1,821,017,599

$175,422,836

($55,860,579)

$231,283,415

Marriott Vacations W.W. Corp

VAC US

$417,034,787

$146,107,953

($26,168,862)

$172,276,815

Trip.com Group Ltd ADR

TCOM US

$622,355,753

$194,268,342

$32,826,734

$161,441,608

Las Vegas Sands Corp

LVS US

$968,886,374

$172,708,345

$20,907,323

$151,801,022

Domino's Pizza Inc

DPZ US

$688,140,227

$78,137,336

($66,425,083)

$144,562,419

Airbnb Inc

ABNB US

$1,770,364,372

($182,032,638)

($318,072,116)

$136,039,478

Marriott International Inc

MAR US

$851,747,281

$33,852,600

($81,418,485)

$115,271,085

Restaurant Brands Intl Inc

QSR US

$374,463,357

($82,367,407)

($11,567,079)

($70,800,328)

Industry Total

$29,449,569,953

$321,624,747

($2,921,368,022)

$3,242,992,769

Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels Industry:

Oil Gas & Consumable Fuels

Ticker

12/30/2022

Change

MTM Change

Change Shs Shorted

Canadian Natural Resources

CNQ US

$2,883,946,163

$936,436,592

($136,638,733)

$1,073,075,325

Enbridge Inc

ENB US

$1,764,781,902

$404,271,241

($72,160,773)

$476,432,014

Enbridge Inc

ENB CN

$2,487,939,291

$319,643,138

($106,534,965)

$426,178,103

Valero Energy Corp

VLO US

$1,619,285,695

$224,605,833

($70,558,568)

$295,164,401

Diamondback Energy Inc

FANG US

$1,384,218,934

$112,835,781

($96,543,350)

$209,379,131

EQT Corp

EQT US

$923,921,624

$16,859,937

($183,508,353)

$200,368,290

Imperial Oil Ltd

IMO CN

$427,389,451

$159,586,552

($37,456,194)

$197,042,746

TC Energy Corp

TRP US

$725,598,844

$77,885,977

($67,275,932)

$145,161,909

HF Sinclair Corp

DINO US

$432,544,662

$78,048,127

($59,423,946)

$137,472,073

Denbury Inc

DEN US

$563,653,428

$116,405,378

($13,652,626)

$130,058,004

Phillips 66

PSX US

$1,193,932,175

($163,010,945)

($54,558,024)

($108,452,921)

Pioneer Natural Resources

PXD US

$1,337,938,996

($183,986,709)

($49,013,244)

($134,973,465)

ConocoPhillips

COP US

$1,179,224,504

($214,095,017)

($62,158,453)

($151,936,564)

Cenovus Energy Inc

CVE US

$633,981,765

($173,991,048)

($19,498,589)

($154,492,459)

Canadian Natural Resources

CNQ CN

$343,814,972

($201,995,619)

($35,757,059)

($166,238,560)

Chevron Corp

CVX US

$3,567,321,390

($309,181,924)

($80,782,514)

($228,399,410)

Suncor Energy Inc

SU US

$2,329,305,900

($1,169,813,611)

($121,356,746)

($1,048,456,865)

Industry Total

$71,173,225,555

($1,938,670,298)

($5,132,201,554)

$3,193,531,256

Health Care Equipment & Supplies Industry:

Health Care Equip & Supplies

Ticker

12/30/2022

Change

MTM Change

Change Shs Shorted

Stryker Corp

SYK US

$1,522,230,191

$521,784,661

$45,340,641

$476,444,020

Edwards Lifesciences Corp

EW US

$1,237,776,020

$388,666,500

($29,018,112)

$417,684,612

Abbott Laboratories

ABT US

$2,127,430,583

$433,669,870

$34,794,676

$398,875,194

Intuitive Surgical Inc

ISRG US

$1,527,642,770

$211,444,277

($24,533,601)

$235,977,878

Medtronic PLC

MDT US

$943,288,417

$219,912,756

($12,080,667)

$231,993,423

Penumbra Inc

PEN US

$942,104,975

$254,595,815

$42,495,555

$212,100,260

Baxter International Inc

BAX US

$333,631,271

$104,389,628

($22,547,028)

$126,936,656

Hologic Inc

HOLX US

$517,616,599

($78,130,378)

($10,560,116)

($67,570,262)

Industry Total

$27,078,828,558

$2,621,812,827

($554,567,531)

$3,176,380,358

Capital Markets Industry:

Capital Markets

Ticker

12/30/2022

Change

MTM Change

Change Shs Shorted

Brookfield Corp

BN CN

$505,386,508

$505,377,121

($3,097)

$505,380,218

Charles Schwab Corp

SCHW US

$1,609,932,678

$286,643,309

$11,543,110

$275,100,199

Blackstone Inc

BX US

$1,583,351,110

($30,911,145)

($305,815,661)

$274,904,516

Morgan Stanley

MS US

$1,563,884,491

$136,369,199

($123,471,561)

$259,840,760

S&P Global Inc

SPGI US

$1,839,166,593

$119,005,168

($87,080,734)

$206,085,902

Franklin Resources Inc

BEN US

$661,407,670

$171,259,073

($7,861,391)

$179,120,464

Coinbase Global Inc

COIN US

$1,493,553,447

($220,792,960)

($387,630,480)

$166,837,520

Deutsche Bank AG

DB US

$256,931,631

$147,582,713

$9,155,271

$138,427,442

KKR & Co Inc

KKR US

$745,387,618

$59,783,758

($72,627,528)

$132,411,286

Nasdaq Inc

NDAQ US

$375,098,072

$77,595,215

($30,897,536)

$108,492,751

Goldman Sachs Group

GS US

$1,808,570,098

($624,437,870)

($269,480,127)

($354,957,743)

Industry Total

$30,502,924,976

$353,648,349

($2,732,251,192)

$3,085,899,541

Entertainment Industry:

Entertainment

Ticker

12/30/2022

Change

MTM Change

Change Shs Shorted

Walt Disney Co

DIS US

$2,275,789,454

$512,122,923

($198,045,318)

$710,168,241

Activision Blizzard Inc

ATVI US

$1,783,149,193

$718,413,248

$37,434,935

$680,978,313

Netflix Inc

NFLX US

$3,579,991,230

$378,891,397

($111,582,212)

$490,473,609

Line Nation Entertainment Inc

LYV US

$1,041,405,173

$215,625,594

($34,275,073)

$249,900,667

Sea Ltd ADR

SE US

$1,552,724,994

$48,744,078

($163,358,558)

$212,102,636

Warner Bros Discovery Inc

WBD US

$1,087,734,034

($70,582,597)

($195,084,906)

$124,502,309

Warner Music Group Corp

WMG US

$283,318,909

$123,361,936

$3,500,663

$119,861,273

Bilibili Inc

BILI US

$515,663,168

($2,596,161)

$188,973,593

($191,569,754)

Industry Total

$19,064,978,726

$1,841,572,121

($1,164,244,697)

$3,005,816,818

The increased short selling indicate a relative price weakness sentiment in these stocks from the short-side of the market, if stock prices decline, we should see additional short selling in these names as traders press their short-side bets. If the market rallies, and stock prices in these stocks rise, there would be a large amount of buy-to-cover potential in these stocks which would help push stock prices up alongside long share holder buying. Either way, this increased short selling should add to future volatility in these stocks.

December 2022 Short Interest Sector Rotation

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