Exxon, OXY, Chevron Shares Rise, Weakening Case for Shorting: Short Seller Tracker

$Exxon Mobil (XOM.US)$, $Occidental Petroleum (OXY.US)$, $Chevron (CVX.US)$ and other oil stocks climbed Monday, strengthening the case for short sellers to close out their bets on the energy companies that can benefit from rising oil prices.

Trading in borrowed Exxon shares that were sold short almost tripled to 9.53 million shares Friday, from 3.29 million shares a day earlier, as the stock gained amid speculation that the U.S. could soon attack Iran. Those who bought back the shares they sold short last week spared themselves from the risk of a squeeze as the U.S. and Israel conducted a joint strike on the Middle Eastern country that's the fourth largest oil supplier in OPEC just past midnight.

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Exxon, Occidental Petroleum and Chevron were among the companies whose primary production bases are outside the Persian Gulf, leaving those physical oil supplies undisturbed by any disruptions from the Straight of Hormuz, the most fragile oil chokepoint, given its proximity to Iran.

Trading in borrowed $Occidental Petroleum (OXY.US)$ shares that were sold short rose to 2.38 million shares Friday, from 2.05 million a day earlier. The oil company that counts billionaire Warren Buffett's $Berkshire Hathaway-B (BRK.B.US)$ among its biggest investors, is one of the largest oil and gas producers in the U.S., with its core operations in the Permian Basin and the Rockies.

Meanwhile, $Netflix (NFLX.US)$ saw its short volume jump 19.93 million shares to 29.65 million shares, after the company said it's walking away from its deal to purchase $Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.US)$. That's the biggest short volume among stocks with a market capital of more than $5 billion tracked by moomoo. The short volume accounted for 14.76% of the total shares that changed hands Friday, when the stock jumped almost 14%.

$Paramount Skydance (PSKY.US)$, which offered more money for Warner Bros. saw its short volume soar 21.93 million shares to 25.49 million shares, the biggest increase among stocks tracked by moomoo. The short volume accounted for almost 28% of the shares that changed hands that day when the stock price climbed 21%.

$Enbridge (ENB.US)$'s short volume accounted for 49.63% of the shares that changed hands Friday, the highest short ratio. Short volume rose 2.75 million shares to 3.86 million shares.

$Amazon (AMZN.US)$, $CoreWeave (CRWV.US)$, $IREN Ltd (IREN.US)$, $Coca-Cola (KO.US)$, $AT&T (T.US)$, and $Huntington Bancshares (HBAN.US)$ also saw higher short volume.

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