Short Interest Slides on Healthcare Names (DNEX, BEC, PLL)

Jefferies & Company is out with a research report this morning, where it notes that median short interest for Diagnostic and Research Supplies stocks fell 1% and 7%, respectively, in the second half of December. This compares to a 5% absolute decline for both the NYSE and NASDAQ. Short interest levels decreased for 27 of the 37 constituents in the analysts' diagnostic and research supplies index. Those experiencing the most dramatic decreases were Dionex Corporation DNEX (-44%), Beckman Coulter, Inc. BEC (-32%), Pall Corporation PLL (-31%) and Bruker Corporation BRKR (-31%). The largest increases were for Agilent Technologies A (+28%), Neogen Corporation NEOG (+18%), Nanosphere, Inc. NSPH (+16%) and Life Technologies Corporation LIFE (+12%). The analysts further noted that, of the 49 companies included in their overall analysis, 39% have more than 5% of the float sold short (down sequentially from 47%), while 22% boast a short interest level greater than 10% of the float (flat). Short interest levels top 15% of the float for 10% of the companies (flat).