Oak Valley Bancorp Sees Surge in Short Interest

Short positions on the California bank's stock grew nearly 42% in March

Mar. 29, 2026 at 9:54pm

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Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ: OVLY), a California-based commercial bank, saw a significant increase in short interest on its stock in March. As of March 13, short positions totaled 48,163 shares, up 41.8% from the previous month's 33,962 shares.

Why it matters

The rise in short interest suggests investors are betting against Oak Valley Bancorp's stock performance, which could signal concerns about the bank's financial health or growth prospects. Short-selling activity is closely watched as an indicator of market sentiment.

The details

The days-to-cover ratio, which measures the number of days it would take for short-sellers to cover their positions based on average daily trading volume, increased to 2.4 days as of mid-March. Approximately 0.7% of Oak Valley Bancorp's outstanding shares are currently sold short.

  • As of March 13, 2026, short interest totaled 48,163 shares.
  • In February 2026, short interest was 33,962 shares.

The players

Oak Valley Bancorp

A California-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Lodi, California, offering a full suite of banking services to individuals, businesses, agricultural enterprises and nonprofit organizations.

State Street Corp

A large institutional investor that owns 99,225 shares of Oak Valley Bancorp, representing a 0.8% increase in its stake during the fourth quarter of 2025.

Barclays PLC

An institutional investor that owns 28,594 shares of Oak Valley Bancorp, representing a 3.4% increase in its stake during the fourth quarter of 2025.

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The takeaway

The surge in short interest on Oak Valley Bancorp's stock suggests investors are growing more bearish on the bank's prospects, which could signal potential concerns about its financial performance or growth outlook. However, the overall short position still represents a relatively small fraction of the bank's total outstanding shares.