Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLB) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLB) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 19,922,682 shares, a decrease of 13.7% from the January 15th total of 23,098,271 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 16,540,086 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 16.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 16.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 16,540,086 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund Price Performance

XLB stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $53.21. The company had a trading volume of 5,592,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,479,758. The company has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55 and a beta of 1.03. Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund has a 52 week low of $36.56 and a 52 week high of $54.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Silicon Valley Capital Partners bought a new position in Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund during the second quarter worth about $25,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 488.2% in the second quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 300 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 75.78% of the company’s stock.

About Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund

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