First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund (NYSEARCA:FBT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund (NYSEARCA:FBT) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 30th, there was short interest totaling 85,653 shares, an increase of 141.4% from the October 15th total of 35,484 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 61,521 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBT. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund by 49,660.7% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,515,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $705,900,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508,029 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund by 6,369.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,058,000 after purchasing an additional 68,918 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund during the third quarter valued at about $15,866,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund by 29.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 199,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,160,000 after buying an additional 45,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund during the third quarter valued at about $11,421,000.

First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund Price Performance

NYSEARCA FBT traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $271.03. 341,501 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 106,515. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 28.61 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $269.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.84. First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund has a 52 week low of $189.47 and a 52 week high of $283.21.

First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund Company Profile

The First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund (FBT) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NYSE Arca Biotechnology index. The fund tracks an equal-weighted index of US biotechnology stocks. FBT was launched on Jun 19, 2006 and is managed by First Trust.