Short Interest in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Grows By 1,043.2%

Posted by Jeff Wilder on Feb 25th, 2026

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 41,984,321 shares, a growth of 1,043.2% from the January 29th total of 3,672,648 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 25,539,339 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Based on an average trading volume of 25,539,339 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on SAN

Banco Santander Stock Up 5.6%

Shares of NYSE SAN traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $13.22. 16,297,040 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,388,226. Banco Santander has a 1 year low of $5.54 and a 1 year high of $13.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $12.24 and a 200 day moving average of $10.90. The stock has a market cap of $196.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.72.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. Banco Santander had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 12.14%. The business had revenue of $18.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.89 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Banco Santander will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 56,109,418 shares of the bank’s stock worth $658,164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719,432 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Banco Santander by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 18,037,272 shares of the bank’s stock worth $211,577,000 after acquiring an additional 398,787 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,766,849 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $174,839,000 after purchasing an additional 237,825 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Banco Santander by 8.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,844,029 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $134,605,000 after buying an additional 1,000,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Banco Santander by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 9,400,907 shares of the bank’s stock worth $110,273,000 after buying an additional 419,035 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

More Banco Santander News

Here are the key news stories impacting Banco Santander this week:

Positive Sentiment: Santander set a target of more than €20 billion in attributable profit by 2028, raised its profitability (ROTE) target and said recent U.S./U.K. deals will drive synergies that improve margins and shareholder returns. Santander targets over 20 billion euros in profit by 2028, tweaks dividend policy
Positive Sentiment: Management expects AI and digital investments to generate roughly €1 billion in business value and to help add millions of customers — a strategic push that underpins the margin and revenue uplift forecasts. Santander expects to generate €1 billion in business value from investments in AI
Positive Sentiment: Analysts have reacted: Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Santander’s stock, and the shares hit a new 52-week high after the upgrade, supporting buying momentum. Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Stock Rating Upgraded by Royal Bank Of Canada
Positive Sentiment: CEO Ana Botín is promoting a digital-led efficiency program that management expects will unlock cost savings and help justify the higher profit targets. Botin to set out cost savings from Santander digital drive after deal spree
Neutral Sentiment: Santander’s investor-day presentation laid out the 2026–2028 plan in detail (targets, KPIs and integration roadmap); it formalizes management guidance but execution will determine market reaction. 2026 Santander Investor Day
Negative Sentiment: Short interest spiked ~1,043% in February to ~41.98M shares (about 0.3% of float), which could create short-covering-driven volatility despite a modest days-to-cover (~1.6 days). (Data reported 2/13/26.)

Banco Santander Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Banco Santander, SA (NYSE: SAN) is a Spanish multinational banking group headquartered in Santander, Spain. Founded in 1857, the bank has grown from a regional institution into one of Europe’s largest banking groups, operating a diversified financial services platform that serves retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and large corporate clients. Santander is publicly listed in Spain and maintains American Depositary Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SAN.

The group’s core activities include retail and commercial banking—offering deposit accounts, payment services, mortgages, personal and auto loans, and small business financing—alongside corporate and investment banking services for larger institutional clients.