Stock of the day - Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA)

The Wall Street Journal reported that Alcoa returned to profit in the first quarter, due to improved sales and higher prices in most major markets.  However, sales growth wasn't as strong as expected. The aluminum producer plans to increase production in the first half as prices are expected to continue to rise. In the run up to the results, shorts have covered positions by 10% since March 25th to 50 million shares, which equates to 4.67% of the total shares outstanding on loan.  However, long only investors who lend have shown faith in the company and increased their holdings by 5 million shares to 250 million, over the same period.