First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund (NASDAQ:QTEC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund (NASDAQ:QTEC) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 224,100 shares, a growth of 19.8% from the March 31st total of 187,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 119,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Institutional Trading of First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of QTEC. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund by 3.3% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund by 37.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC increased its stake in First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 6,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Rollins Financial boosted its holdings in shares of First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund by 1.6% in the third quarter. Rollins Financial now owns 8,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter.

First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund Stock Down 2.0 %

QTEC traded down $3.75 on Tuesday, reaching $180.06. The company had a trading volume of 53,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 118,602. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $187.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 34.23 and a beta of 1.17. First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund has a 1 year low of $120.50 and a 1 year high of $196.30.

First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology Index Fund Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.0084 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 21st. This represents a $0.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.02%.

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.