The number of shares sold short in Apple — usually a bet placed by speculators who think that the stock is more likely to go down than up in the near future — dropped by 24.5 million to 53.7 million, a plunge of 31%, reports Douglas A. McIntyre on 24/7WallStreet.
Apple edged out Intel, which saw its short interest fall 23.6 million.
The trigger for the fall-off in the Apple short interest is likely two reasons. The first is the robust increase in its share price over the past three months. The stock has risen over 14% during that period. The second reason short sellers were likely exited was that, not only did Apple post strong earnings in the last quarter, but analysts expect demand will push iPhone sales to a record as consumers rush to buy the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter at @philiped. Read his Apple (AAPL) coverage at fortune.com/ped or subscribe via his RSS feed.
