First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:FTLS) Short Interest Up 200.8% in March

First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:FTLS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 193,666 shares, a growth of 200.8% from the February 26th total of 64,382 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 91,446 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morgan Stanley raised its position in First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,252,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,876,000 after purchasing an additional 78,397 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,549,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,959,000 after buying an additional 78,470 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF by 10.6% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,417,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,161,000 after buying an additional 231,155 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 2,397,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,200,000 after buying an additional 149,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF by 45.2% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 673,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,633,000 after buying an additional 209,579 shares during the period.

First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF Price Performance

FTLS stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $69.76. 58,294 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 112,525. First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF has a fifty-two week low of $58.90 and a fifty-two week high of $72.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $70.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.61. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.59 and a beta of 0.48.

About First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF

The First Trust Long\u002FShort Equity ETF (FTLS) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in long\u002Fshort alternatives. The fund takes both long and short position in US-listed equity with US and foreign exposure. The actively managed funds will typically be 90-100% long and 0-50% short. FTLS was launched on Sep 9, 2014 and is managed by First Trust.