iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (NYSEARCA:EWU) Short Interest Up 291.5% in May

iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (NYSEARCA:EWU) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 9,432,179 shares, an increase of 291.5% from the May 14th total of 2,409,051 shares. Currently, 12.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,562,810 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 117.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,707,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,472,000 after buying an additional 2,539,863 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,100,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,115,000 after purchasing an additional 437,277 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,977,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,963,000 after purchasing an additional 78,566 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,523,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,986,000 after purchasing an additional 253,162 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 12.3% in the first quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,439,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,580,000 after purchasing an additional 157,908 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.38% of the company’s stock.

iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF Stock Performance

iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF stock traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $46.90. 1,260,616 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,015,513. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 0.59. iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF has a 52-week low of $38.74 and a 52-week high of $48.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $46.89 and its 200 day moving average is $45.82.

iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF Company Profile

The iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (EWU) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI United Kingdom index. The fund tracks a market cap-weighted index of British companies. It covers the top 85% of British companies by market cap. EWU was launched on Mar 12, 1996 and is managed by BlackRock.