New York (HedgeCoVest.Com) – Goldman Sachs released its list of most commonly shorted stocks by the hedge funds that are clients of Goldman. The list was part of the Hedge Fund Trend Monitor that the company produces. As of March 31, the report shows these 10 stocks are the most commonly shorted with the company name, symbol and the value of the short position.

1. AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), $11.1 billion
2. Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS) $4.5 billion
3. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), $4.3 billion
4. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), $3.7 billion
5. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), $3.5 billion
6. Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE: KMI), $3.3 billion
7. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM), $3.2 billion
8. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), $3.0 billion
9. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), $3.0 billion
10. Deere & Company (NYSE: DE), $2.8 billion

Should the market start to experience bearish period, individual investors could benefit from shorting the stocks as well. However, should the market continue to rise or should one of the stocks start to rally sharply, being short a stock that is highly shorted by hedge funds could be a dangerous game. If there is a short-squeeze rally that sends the stock sharply higher, an individual investor that isn’t well informed could get burned.

Rick Pendergraft
Research Analyst
HedgeCoVest