Short Interest in iShares MSCI France ETF (NYSEARCA:EWQ) Increases By 59.5%

iShares MSCI France ETF (NYSEARCA:EWQ) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 917,250 shares, a growth of 59.5% from the February 26th total of 575,072 shares. Approximately 10.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 661,891 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Institutional Trading of iShares MSCI France ETF

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pictet North America Advisors SA lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI France ETF by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 130,339 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $5,726,000 after acquiring an additional 21,921 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new position in shares of iShares MSCI France ETF during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,634,000. Rice Partnership LLC raised its holdings in iShares MSCI France ETF by 21.2% during the third quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 137,119 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $6,024,000 after purchasing an additional 23,955 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in iShares MSCI France ETF by 10.1% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 770,301 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $33,839,000 after purchasing an additional 70,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC acquired a new stake in iShares MSCI France ETF in the second quarter worth approximately $581,000. 73.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

iShares MSCI France ETF Price Performance

Shares of NYSEARCA EWQ traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.87. 464,537 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 480,472. The company has a market cap of $360.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.77. iShares MSCI France ETF has a 52 week low of $35.24 and a 52 week high of $48.39.

iShares MSCI France ETF Company Profile

iShares MSCI France ETF, formerly iShares MSCI France Index 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 French market, as measured by the MSCI France Index (the Index). The Index seeks to measure the performance of the French equity market. The Index consists of stocks traded primarily on the Paris Stock Exchange. The Fund invests in sectors, such as industrials, financials, energy, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, healthcare, materials, telecommunication services, utilities and information technology.