Short Stocks: Bets build against pharma, credit cards

[Joanne98]

NEW YORK, April 9 (Reuters) - Short interest held steady in
late March on the New York Stock Exchange, edging up 0.1
percent, and fell 4.1 percent on the Nasdaq, the exchanges said
on Thursday. The following list shows some stocks that saw increased
interest from short sellers, who bet that a certain stock's
price will fall, and key recent news events for those stocks.
The data reflect short trades with a settlement date of March
31, 2009. For full story please see . For the factbox
with the biggest changes in NYSE short interest, please see
and for the Nasdaq, please
see. PFIZER INC (PFE.N) Short interest rose 22.6 percent in the company. The drug maker may have to sell some its animal-health unit
so it can gain antitrust clearance for its planned acquisition
of Wyeth (WYE.N), according to a March 19 Wall Street Journal
report. About 147.6 million of the company's shares were held
short, or 2.2 percent of its total shares outstanding. MERCK & CO (MRK.N) Short interest rose 69 percent in the company. The drugmaker said on March 23 it had been advised it was a
target of a U.S. grand jury investigation involving its
withdrawn pain drug Vioxx. About 55.9 million of the company's shares were held short,
or 2.7 percent of its total shares outstanding. VISA INC (V.N) Short interest rose 29.6 percent in the company. Barron's wrote in its March 28 issue that the credit card
issuer could see its earnings and shares rise up to the $70
range. About 24.5 million of the company's shares were held short,
or 5.5 percent of its total shares outstanding. AMERICAN EXPRESS CO (AXP.N) Short interest rose 21 percent in the company. J.P. Morgan Securities said on March 25 that the credit
card issuer "may have to set aside a significant amount of
money to cover more losses in the next few quarters as U.S.
credit card defaults are expected to remain high."
About 53 million of the company's shares were held short,
or 4.5 percent of its total shares outstanding. STARWOOD HOTELS & RESORTS WORLD (HOT.N)

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http://www.reuters.com/article/wtUSInvestingNews/idINN0928006720090410