iShares Asia 50 ETF (NASDAQ:AIA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

iShares Asia 50 ETF (NASDAQ:AIA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 52,300 shares, an increase of 325.2% from the January 31st total of 12,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 43,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iShares Asia 50 ETF

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in iShares Asia 50 ETF in the 4th quarter worth $3,183,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in iShares Asia 50 ETF by 101.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after buying an additional 12,751 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in iShares Asia 50 ETF by 64.8% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 8,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after buying an additional 3,435 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in iShares Asia 50 ETF by 1,179.8% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 5,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in iShares Asia 50 ETF by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $928,000 after buying an additional 4,898 shares in the last quarter.

iShares Asia 50 ETF Stock Performance

NASDAQ AIA opened at $74.31 on Friday. iShares Asia 50 ETF has a fifty-two week low of $57.21 and a fifty-two week high of $77.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $765.39 million, a P/E ratio of 15.12 and a beta of 0.65.

iShares Asia 50 ETF Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $1.5096 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th.

About iShares Asia 50 ETF

iShares Asia 50 ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares S&P Asia 50 Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P Asia 50 Index (the Index). The Index is a free float-adjusted, market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the performance of the 50 leading companies from four Asian markets: Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.