iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEARCA:EWJ) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEARCA:EWJ) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 10,843,837 shares, a drop of 30.3% from the February 12th total of 15,555,286 shares. Currently, 5.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,981,039 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,981,039 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 5.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

iShares MSCI Japan ETF Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of EWJ stock traded down $0.83 on Friday, hitting $83.36. The company had a trading volume of 9,981,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,752,932. iShares MSCI Japan ETF has a twelve month low of $59.84 and a twelve month high of $94.28. The firm has a market cap of $16.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $87.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.66.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 26,102,320 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $2,093,667,000 after purchasing an additional 662,373 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,993,457 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $403,172,000 after purchasing an additional 13,894 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 60.6% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,677,275 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $200,715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010,345 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,671,796 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $215,721,000 after buying an additional 11,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 254.4% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,542,081 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $205,247,000 after buying an additional 1,824,734 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.60% of the company’s stock.

About iShares MSCI Japan ETF

iShares MSCI Japan ETF (the fund), formerly Ishares Msci Japan Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the Japanese market, as measured by the MSCI Japan Index (the Index). The Index consists of stocks traded primarily on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index.