November 22, 2002
Shorts Being Squeezed Tighter than Ever Before

For the month ended November 12, 2002 total short sales declined by nearly 200 million shares, and outstanding short interest as a percentage of total shares declined from 2.4% to 2.3%.

While the NYSE short interest report offers little new information, what it does is confirm, in part, why stocks have been rallying in recent weeks. Furthermore, given that the data is only current as of November 12, and that a large rally has occurred since this point, one could also speculate that shorts have been squeezed further during recent sessions.

While the media largely ignores short activity, it should be noted that shorts are covering at a more rapid pace today, on a per share basis, than at any other time during the bear market: Total shares short fell by 2.3% for the month ended November 12.


To put the short data into perspective, to begin 2001 short interest was running at 1.4% (versus 2.3% today). In order for short interest to get back to 1.4% more than 3 Billion shares would have to be purchased.

All data and information within these pages is thought to be taken from reliable sources but there is no guarantee as such. All opinions expressed on this site are opinions and should not be regarded as investment advice.
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