No, I don't think it can be tracked. Each exchange has a reporting date for open short interest. It occurs once a month. That is why you occasionally see short covering on some stocks (small boost) just before the 15th in the NASDAQ and I believe the 25th on NYSE. Much like funds act at the beginning and end of quarters.
How is short interest in Nasdaq stocks calculated?
Short selling is the selling of a security that the seller does not own, or any sale that is
completed by the delivery of a security borrowed by the seller. Short selling is a legitimate
trading strategy. Short sellers assume the risk that they will be able to buy the stock at a more
favorable price than the price at which they sold short. The Nasdaq Short Sale Rule prohibits
NASD members from selling a Nasdaq National Market stock at or below the inside best bid
when that price is lower than the previous inside best bid in that stock.
To calculate short interest in Nasdaq stocks, NASD member firms are instructed to report to
the NASDR TS-Customer Advocacy & Quality Management Department, on a monthly basis,
their short positions, for all accounts, in shares, warrants, units, ADRs, and convertible
preferreds resulting from short sales. Once the short position reports are received by the
Product Deployment and Support Department, the short interest is then compiled for each
Nasdaq security.
Firms are required to report their short positions as of settlement on the 15th of each month, or
the preceding business day if the 15th is not a business day. The reports must be filed by the
second business day after the reporting settlement date. The Product Deployment and Support
area compiles the short interest data and provides it for publication on the 8th business day
after the reporting settlement date.
The monthly short interest information does include the adjustment for stock splits. The
adjustment to the short interest for stocks that split on or before the reporting settlement date
will automatically be reflected in the most current reporting period. However, for stock splits that
occur after the settlement date, the adjustment will be reflected in the following reporting period.
Publication Schedule for 1998
"QWEST COMMUN INTL","QWST",7949108,5585428,2363680," 42",815024,"","","","","","*"
nasd.com |
