First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund (NASDAQ:QTEC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund (NASDAQ:QTEC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 435,700 shares, a growth of 54.8% from the February 13th total of 281,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 165,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in QTEC. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in shares of First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 3,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its position in First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 11,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,288,000 after buying an additional 2,506 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period.

First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund Trading Up 3.2 %

QTEC stock traded up $5.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $180.37. The stock had a trading volume of 196,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 181,263. First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund has a 52 week low of $164.27 and a 52 week high of $211.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.18 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.12.

About First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund

The First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund (QTEC) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NASDAQ-100 Technology Sector index. The fund tracks an equal-weighted index of the largest Nasdaq-listed US technology stocks. QTEC was launched on Apr 19, 2006 and is managed by First Trust.