Short volume is the total number of shares that were sold short during a specific trading period, typically measured on a daily basis. It represents trading activity - how many shares were shorted on a given day - rather than the number of shares currently held in short positions.
For a detailed explanation, see our What is Short Volume? page.
Short volume measures daily trading activity (how many shares were shorted today), while short interest measures outstanding positions (how many shares are currently short and haven't been covered). Short volume is updated daily, while short interest is updated twice monthly.
Learn more in our Short Volume vs Short Interest guide.
Our short volume data comes from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Trade Reporting Facility. FINRA collects and aggregates off-exchange short sale transactions for stocks listed on NASDAQ, NYSE, and OTC markets. The data is published with a one-day delay. Note that FINRA TRF data does not include trades executed directly on exchanges.
Read more about FINRA data collection.
Short volume data is updated daily, but with a one-day delay. This means today's short volume data becomes available tomorrow. This delay is standard for FINRA data reporting.
The short volume ratio is calculated by dividing short volume by total volume. Generally, a ratio above 40-50% is considered high, while below 20% is considered low. However, context matters - compare ratios to historical averages for the same stock and consider overall market conditions.
Not necessarily. High short volume indicates that many traders are betting against the stock, but it doesn't guarantee a price decline. In fact, high short volume can sometimes lead to short squeezes if the price rises instead, forcing short sellers to cover their positions.
A short squeeze occurs when a stock's price rises significantly, forcing short sellers to buy back shares to cover their positions. This buying pressure can accelerate the price increase, creating a feedback loop. Short squeezes are more likely when a stock has high short interest and the price begins to rise.
Short volume can be misleading for several reasons:
- Offsetting trades are not included: When broker-dealers facilitate customer orders to sell long-held shares, they may execute a short sale first, then immediately buy from the customer. Only the short sale is publicly reported, making short volume appear higher than actual bearish sentiment.
- Not consolidated with exchange data: FINRA data only covers off-exchange transactions, so it doesn't represent the full picture of short selling activity.
- Market maker operations: Short sales by market makers may be part of normal operations, not bearish sentiment.
- High-frequency trading: Can inflate short volume numbers.
It's important to look at trends over time rather than single-day spikes, and to understand that high short volume doesn't always indicate bearish sentiment. For more details, see this article from ORTEX.
Short volume data can be useful for day trading, but remember it's published with a one-day delay, so you're always looking at yesterday's data. It's better used for identifying trends and patterns over several days or weeks rather than for immediate trading decisions.
Short volume data is available for stocks listed on NASDAQ, NYSE, and OTC markets that have off-exchange trades reported to FINRA. However, FINRA TRF data only covers off-exchange transactions, so on-exchange trades are not included. Some alternative trading systems and dark pools may not report all transactions, so the data may not be 100% complete for all stocks.
The data comes directly from FINRA's official reporting, so it's as accurate as the regulatory reporting system. However, it only includes off-exchange trades reported to FINRA's Trade Reporting Facility. On-exchange trades (executed directly on NASDAQ or NYSE) are not included. Some transactions on alternative trading systems or dark pools may not be fully captured.
It depends on your trading strategy. For short-term analysis, look at 5-30 day trends. For longer-term analysis, examine 3-12 month patterns. Avoid focusing on single-day numbers, as they can be misleading. Always compare current data to historical averages for the same stock.
The charts show short volume (in red) compared to total volume (in green) over your selected time period. Look for trends - is short volume increasing or decreasing? Compare the short volume ratio to historical levels. Also consider the relationship between short volume spikes and price movements.
Currently, our website provides interactive charts and data visualization. For raw data downloads, you can access FINRA's official data directly from their website at regsho.finra.org.
Yes, our website and the short volume data visualization tools are free to use. FINRA makes this data publicly available, and we provide it in an easy-to-use format for investors and traders.
If you notice any discrepancies or have suggestions, please email us at webmaster@shortvolume.com. However, please note that the underlying data comes from FINRA, so any corrections would need to be verified with the source data.
Have a question that's not answered here? Please contact us and we'll be happy to help.
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