April Short Selling
Author:
Ihor Dusaniwsky
Managing Director of Predictive Analytics
The beginning of April has been a volatile trading month with the S&P 500 down -9.3%, the Nasdaq down -9.9% and Russell 3000 down -9.5%. We saw total short interest in the market, both equity and ETFs, decline by $114 billion.
Industry Group
3-28-25 Short Int
4-7-25 Short Int
Change Short Int
Automobiles & Components
$36,022,180,875
$31,997,645,005
($4,024,535,870)
Banks
$55,524,436,922
$50,485,355,104
($5,039,081,818)
Capital Goods
$86,624,161,485
$81,002,679,826
($5,621,481,659)
Commercial & Professional Services
$24,241,540,071
$23,567,186,617
($674,353,454)
Consumer Disc Distribution & Retail
$66,170,435,952
$61,130,976,656
($5,039,459,296)
Consumer Durables & Apparel
$24,941,469,349
$23,429,049,620
($1,512,419,729)
Consumer Services
$50,653,571,874
$46,861,858,418
($3,791,713,456)
Consumer Staples Dist & Retail
$22,570,619,909
$22,753,425,949
$182,806,040
Energy
$86,876,657,412
$74,964,294,110
($11,912,363,302)
REITs
$37,941,072,384
$35,394,618,339
($2,546,454,045)
Financial Funds
$1,124,169,701
$1,063,820,242
($60,349,459)
Financial Services
$94,705,455,309
$87,824,531,435
($6,880,923,874)
Food Beverage & Tobacco
$32,958,425,937
$32,598,694,445
($359,731,492)
Health Care Equipment & Services
$57,781,774,635
$57,469,129,030
($312,645,605)
Household & Personal Products
$9,463,147,799
$9,074,135,058
($389,012,741)
Index Funds & ETFs
$288,440,117,871
$276,797,618,455
($11,642,499,416)
Insurance
$29,425,132,975
$28,071,450,415
($1,353,682,560)
Materials
$48,030,695,911
$44,120,067,020
($3,910,628,891)
Media & Entertainment
$83,880,628,467
$77,812,280,955
($6,068,347,512)
Pharma Biotech & Life Sciences
$101,303,393,153
$91,292,675,054
($10,010,718,099)
Real Estate Management & Dev
$5,326,228,382
$4,999,305,176
($326,923,206)
Semiconductors & Semi Equipment
$95,617,181,382
$84,672,235,885
($10,944,945,497)
Software & Services
$132,573,850,563
$123,721,034,547
($8,852,816,016)
SPAC
$33,312,125
$32,022,248
($1,289,877)
Technology Hardware & Equipment
$61,547,594,158
$53,995,284,601
($7,552,309,557)
Telecommunication Services
$17,802,965,880
$16,813,646,950
($989,318,930)
Transportation
$27,931,581,721
$25,069,919,779
($2,861,661,942)
Utilities
$35,109,092,071
$33,601,933,677
($1,507,158,394)
Grand Total
$1,614,620,894,274
$1,500,616,874,613
($114,004,019,661)
The $114 billion decline of total short interest was made up of $46 billion of new short selling which was more than offset by a $160 billion decline in the mark-to-market value of shares shorted, The Industry Groups with the largest amount of increased short selling were Index Funds & ETFs, Financial Services, Capital Goods and Software & Services.
Industry Group
Change Short Interest
Change Shs Shorted
Change MTM
Automobiles & Components
($4,024,535,870)
($279,917,396)
($3,744,618,474)
Banks
($5,039,081,818)
$812,830,714
($5,851,912,532)
Capital Goods
($5,621,481,659)
$3,195,866,549
($8,817,348,208)
Commercial & Professional Services
($674,353,454)
$947,449,968
($1,621,803,422)
Consumer Disc Distribution & Retail
($5,039,459,296)
$1,464,657,004
($6,504,116,300)
Consumer Durables & Apparel
($1,512,419,729)
$1,048,061,787
($2,560,481,516)
Consumer Services
($3,791,713,456)
$1,292,644,922
($5,084,358,378)
Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail
$182,806,040
$643,913,521
($461,107,481)
Energy
($11,912,363,302)
$1,458,673,246
($13,371,036,548)
REITs
($2,546,454,045)
$1,016,494,064
($3,562,948,109)
Financial Funds
($60,349,459)
$49,096,606
($109,446,065)
Financial Services
($6,880,923,874)
$3,734,409,636
($10,615,333,510)
Food Beverage & Tobacco
($359,731,492)
$687,388,140
($1,047,119,632)
Health Care Equipment & Services
($312,645,605)
$2,566,607,424
($2,879,253,029)
Household & Personal Products
($389,012,741)
$269,499,182
($658,511,923)
Index Funds & ETFs
($11,642,499,416)
$13,264,839,588
($24,907,339,004)
Insurance
($1,353,682,560)
$1,334,727,996
($2,688,410,556)
Materials
($3,910,628,891)
$1,309,209,874
($5,219,838,765)
Media & Entertainment
($6,068,347,512)
$1,750,920,470
($7,819,267,982)
Pharma Biotech & Life Sciences
($10,010,718,099)
$1,749,764,283
($11,760,482,382)
Real Estate Management & Development
($326,923,206)
$104,877,528
($431,800,734)
Semiconductors & Semi Equipment
($10,944,945,497)
$1,326,983,253
($12,271,928,750)
Software & Services
($8,852,816,016)
$3,423,505,902
($12,276,321,918)
SPAC
($1,289,877)
($706,544)
($583,333)
Technology Hardware & Equipment
($7,552,309,557)
$1,393,764,720
($8,946,074,277)
Telecommunication Services
($989,318,930)
$112,672,255
($1,101,991,185)
Transportation
($2,861,661,942)
$348,302,066
($3,209,964,008)
Utilities
($1,507,158,394)
$537,558,526
($2,044,716,920)
Grand Total
($114,004,019,661)
$45,564,095,287
($159,568,114,948)
Shorting into this market was a profitable trade with short sellers up $159 billion in mark-to-market profits, +10.1%. The most profitable Industry Groups on a percentage basis were Energy, Technology Hardware & Equipment, Semiconductors & Semi Equipment, Transportation and Pharma Biotech & Life Sciences. On a dollar basis, the most profitable Industry Groups were Index Funds & ETFs, Energy, Semiconductor & Semi Equipment, Software & Services and Pharma Biotech & Life Sciences.
Industry Group
MTM P\L
P\L %
Automobiles & Components
$ 3,775,853,401
11.00%
Banks
$ 5,743,896,471
10.74%
Capital Goods
$ 8,800,631,143
10.41%
Commercial & Professional Services
$ 1,633,897,661
6.77%
Consumer Disc Distribution & Retail
$ 6,501,651,375
10.12%
Consumer Durables & Apparel
$ 2,576,038,649
10.56%
Consumer Services
$ 5,055,059,641
10.27%
Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail
$ 471,505,139
2.06%
Energy
$ 13,348,897,549
16.35%
REITs
$ 3,579,779,982
9.68%
Financial Funds
$ 105,375,968
9.55%
Financial Services
$ 10,701,559,136
11.62%
Food Beverage & Tobacco
$ 1,037,897,541
3.14%
Health Care Equipment & Services
$ 2,863,217,373
4.92%
Household & Personal Products
$ 665,227,376
7.11%
Index Funds & ETFs
$ 24,827,124,943
8.71%
Insurance
$ 2,742,342,931
9.45%
Materials
$ 5,216,512,415
11.22%
Media & Entertainment
$ 7,846,803,342
9.62%
Pharma Biotech & Life Sciences
$ 11,415,335,706
11.75%
Real Estate Management & Development
$ 434,733,271
8.35%
Semiconductors & Semi Equipment
$ 12,273,008,579
13.49%
Software & Services
$ 12,215,121,286
9.45%
SPAC
$ 47,423
0.14%
Technology Hardware & Equipment
$ 8,935,614,066
15.33%
Telecommunication Services
$ 1,095,094,974
6.27%
Transportation
$ 3,158,619,203
11.81%
Utilities
$ 2,041,579,692
5.89%
Grand Total
$ 159,062,426,237
10.12%
Overall, the short side was an extraordinarily profitable trade up and down the market during this correction. 81% of every short trade was profitable and 97% of every dollar shorted was a profitable trade.
The most profitable short trades on a dollar basis were:
Stock
Ticker
Avg. Short Interest
MTM P\L
P\L %
1
SPDR SP 500 ETF
SPY US
$63,885,025,055
$6,136,858,453
9.61%
2
APPLE INC
AAPL US
$27,518,421,142
$4,862,204,106
17.67%
3
NVIDIA CORP
NVDA US
$27,929,383,850
$3,251,843,670
11.64%
4
TESLA INC
TSLA US
$20,833,189,540
$2,502,112,140
12.01%
5
INVESCO QQQ TRUST ETF
QQQ US
$25,477,049,780
$2,445,979,039
9.60%
6
ISHS RUSSELL 2000 ETF
IWM US
$17,038,468,201
$1,819,928,514
10.68%
7
CHEVRON CORP
CVX US
$9,835,861,102
$1,623,227,686
16.50%
8
META PLATFORMS INC
META US
$14,170,041,755
$1,553,297,092
10.96%
9
AMAZON.COM INC
AMZN US
$14,113,396,744
$1,339,259,999
9.49%
10
ALIBABA GROUP ADR
BABA US
$6,340,410,983
$1,338,683,282
21.11%
11
MICROSOFT CORP
MSFT US
$24,382,150,340
$1,324,308,687
5.43%
12
ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES
AMD US
$5,371,282,076
$1,084,377,983
20.19%
13
APOLLO GLOBAL MGMNT INC
APO US
$4,550,781,975
$891,987,325
19.60%
14
VISA INC
V US
$8,796,650,917
$820,033,626
9.32%
15
BROADCOM INC
AVGO US
$9,024,997,482
$785,866,384
8.71%
16
MICRON TECHNOLOGY
MU US
$2,436,394,069
$718,920,437
29.51%
17
EXXON MOBIL CORP
XOM US
$5,131,242,040
$677,744,658
13.21%
18
SPDR S&P BIOTECH ETF
XBI US
$4,537,690,036
$650,471,258
14.33%
19
JPMORGAN CHASE CO
JPM US
$5,465,970,119
$646,839,617
11.83%
20
ELI LILLY CO
LLY US
$5,126,627,600
$640,107,259
12.49%
The least profitable short trades on a dollar basis were:
Stock
Ticker
Avg. Short Interest
MTM P\L
P\L %
1
CORCEPT THERAPEUTICS INC
CORT US
$1,242,200,288
($309,195,473)
-24.89%
2
IPATH SERIES B SP 500 VIX ST FUTURES ETN
VXX US
$622,633,832
($228,169,854)
-36.65%
3
PROSHS ULTRAPRO SHORT QQQ ETF
SQQQ US
$615,666,346
($158,124,582)
-25.68%
4
PROSHS ULTRA 1.5X VIX S.T. FUTURES ETF
UVXY US
$199,538,484
($106,943,441)
-53.60%
5
DRXN DAILY SEMICONDUCTOR BEAR 3X ETF
SOXS US
$292,568,017
($104,896,097)
-35.85%
6
UNITEDHEALTH GRP
UNH US
$5,511,900,423
($89,236,215)
-1.62%
7
GAMESTOP CORP
GME US
$678,894,329
($75,493,947)
-11.12%
8
DOLLAR GENERAL CORP
DG US
$1,114,189,079
($72,092,431)
-6.47%
9
2X LONG VIX FUTURES ETF
UVIX US
$73,397,832
($52,915,176)
-72.09%
10
MR COOPER GROUP INC
COOP US
$279,770,560
($52,771,147)
-18.86%
On percentage basis, with a minimum of $50 million of short interest to reduce the noise of smaller short trades, the most profitable short positions were:
Stock
Ticker
Short Interest
MTM P\L
P\L %
1
VAXCYTE INC
PCVX US
$527,288,298
$444,224,132
84.25%
2
EDGEWISE THERAPEUTICS INC
EWTX US
$155,253,356
$101,684,862
65.50%
3
METSERA INC
MTSR US
$124,195,953
$64,578,208
52.00%
4
DRXN DAILY FTSE CHINA BULL 3X ETF
YINN US
$124,857,233
$62,782,962
50.28%
5
DRXN DAILY SEMICONDUCTOR BULL 3X ETF
SOXL US
$597,908,545
$291,688,516
48.78%
6
FORWARD AIR CORP
FWRD US
$63,092,903
$30,071,416
47.66%
7
RXSIGHT INC
RXST US
$62,565,942
$28,219,373
45.10%
8
DRXN DAILY REGIONAL BANKS BULL 3X ETF
DPST US
$58,408,892
$26,072,200
44.64%
9
VERVE THERAPEUTICS INC
VERV US
$65,351,869
$29,087,129
44.51%
10
CG ONCOLOGY INC
CGON US
$158,025,409
$69,638,102
44.07%
On percentage basis, with a minimum of $50 million of short interest to reduce the noise of smaller short trades, the least profitable short positions were:
Stock
Ticker
Short Interest
MTM P\L
P\L %
1
2X LONG VIX FUTURES ETF
UVIX US
$73,397,832
($52,915,176)
-72.09%
2
PROSHS ULTRA 1.5X VIX S.T. FUTURES ETF
UVXY US
$199,538,484
($106,943,441)
-53.60%
3
DRXN DAILY FTSE CHINA BEAR 3X ETF
YANG US
$55,495,248
($28,322,982)
-51.04%
4
IPATH SERIES B SP 500 VIX ST FUTURES ETN
VXX US
$622,633,832
($228,169,854)
-36.65%
5
DRXN DAILY SEMICONDUCTOR BEAR 3X ETF
SOXS US
$292,568,017
($104,896,097)
-35.85%
6
DRXN DAILY SMALL CAP BEAR 3X ETF
TZA US
$75,500,330
($21,862,571)
-28.96%
7
DRXN DAILY SP 500 BEAR 3X ETF
SPXS US
$75,433,178
($20,407,170)
-27.05%
8
PROSHS ULTRAPRO SHORT SP 500 ETF
SPXU US
$64,228,960
($17,304,701)
-26.94%
9
MICROALGO INC
MLGO US
$56,119,549
($14,772,882)
-26.32%
10
PROSHS ULTRAPRO SHORT QQQ ETF
SQQQ US
$615,666,346
($158,124,582)
-25.68%
Short sellers were actively and profitably shorting into a market correction but when the market hits a floor and starts trending upwards again, we should expect a slew of buy-to-covers as the mark-to-market increase of shares shorted creates a short side over-exposure in hedged portfolios and short sellers look to realize their mark-to-market gains. Short sellers will be shoulder to shoulder with momentum and FOMO traders buying into a future rally, exacerbating market volatility on the way up as they did on the way down.
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The information herein (some of which has been obtained from third party sources without verification) is believed by S3 Partners, LLC (“S3 Partners”) to be reliable and accurate. Neither S3 Partners nor any of its affiliates makes any representation as to the accuracy or completeness of the information herein or accepts liability arising from its use. Prior to making any decisions based on the information herein, you should determine, without reliance upon S3 Partners, the economic risks, and merits, as well as the legal, tax, accounting, and investment consequences, of such decisions.
