First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (NASDAQ:QQEW) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 300.7% in October

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (NASDAQ:QQEW) was the target of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 48,991 shares, an increase of 300.7% from the September 30th total of 12,227 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 45,402 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of QQEW. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund during the first quarter worth about $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 231.9% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in shares of First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 1,534.0% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC acquired a new position in First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund during the third quarter worth $167,000.

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QQEW traded down $2.79 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $155.77. The stock had a trading volume of 24,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,928. The company’s 50 day moving average is $160.95 and its 200-day moving average is $148.41. First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund has a 12-month low of $122.38 and a 12-month high of $167.26. The company has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18 and a beta of 1.08.

About First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund

The First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (QQEW) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NASDAQ-100 Equally Weighted index. The fund tracks an equal-weighted version of the NASDAQ 100. QQEW was launched on Apr 19, 2006 and is managed by First Trust.