WSJ article on short positions. ASND is referenced towards the bottom of the article. If any merger news were to occur, however unlikely that is, there would be a massive short-covering scramble:
The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition -- August 27, 1997
Short Interest Rose 0.5% In Latest Month on Nasdaq
By EILEEN KINSELLA
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
NEW YORK -- Short interest rose 0.5% in the latest
month on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
The total, which includes Nasdaq small-capitalization and large-capitalization securities, rose to l,562,445,702 shares
as of Aug. 15 from a revised 1,554,245,650 shares in
mid-July, according to the National Association of
Securities Dealers, which runs Nasdaq.
On the Nasdaq Small-Cap Market, which is made up of
the 1,421 smaller-cap stocks, short interest rose 2.6%.
Short interest increased 0.5% for the 4,148 larger-cap
stocks on the Nasdaq National Market.
Traders who sell securities "short" borrow shares and then
sell them, betting they can profit by buying the stock back
later at lower prices. As such, short interest is often taken
as an indicator of the degree of negative sentiment among
investors in the stocks. Investors also may rely on short
selling for other purposes, including as a hedging strategy
related to corporate mergers and acquisitions, for
convertible securities and options, or for tax-related
purposes. Short interest is the number of shares that
haven't been repurchased for return to lenders.
The Nasdaq National Market's short-interest ratio fell to
2.42 from 2.77 last month. The short-interest ratio for the
smaller stocks decreased to 0.92 from 1. The ratio is the
number of trading days that would be required to close out
the short positions through share purchases and is
considered a measure of trading sentiment.
The largest volume decreases in short interest were in
Quantum Corp., down 9,960,098 shares to 13,313,563;
Nextel Communications Inc. A, down 7,089,746 shares to
10,780,185, and Staples Inc., down 4,616,039 shares to
13,297,440.
The largest volume increases were in Intel Corp., up
8,546,358 shares to 28,095,416 shares;
TeleCommunications A TCI Group, up 7,185,643 shares
to 35,605,175, and Apple Computer Inc., up 5,874,385
shares to 21,023,127.
Among the issues with the largest short-interest positions,WorldCom Inc. was up 5,761,406 shares to 42,977,690
shares; Boston Chicken Inc. was down 418,071 shares to
19,770,644, and Ascend Communications Inc. was up
1,570,450 shares to 14,724,332.
The next report on Nasdaq short interest will be published Sept. 25. |
