Toward Understanding Short-Selling Activity: Demand and Supply
Accounting and Finance, Forthcoming
Posted: 19 Jan 2019
There are 2 versions of this paper
Toward Understanding Short-Selling Activity: Demand and Supply
Date Written: 2019
Abstract
We investigate the demand and supply sides of short-selling activity in the US from 2003 to 2015. We construct four types of demand-side variables from fundamentals, and three types of supply-side variables from institutional ownership (IO) and stock loan data. The supply-side variables play a more important role in determining short selling than the demand-side variables. The IO of quasi-indexer type is the most important supply-side variable, while the arbitrage and hedging with options market is the most important demand-side variable. Finally, a portfolio sorting approach confirms the same results.
Keywords: Short selling; Demand and supply; Institutional ownership; Borrowing cost
JEL Classification: G01, G11, G14
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation