NEW YORK (Reuters) – Short interest on the Nasdaq rose 2.35% in late September, the exchange said on Tuesday.
As of Sept. 30, short interest rose to about 12.497 billion shares, compared with 12.209 billion shares as of Sept. 15.
Investors who sell securities “short” borrow shares and then sell them, expecting the stock to fall so they can buy the shares back at the lower price, return them to the lender and pocket the difference.
Shorting can also be part of a hedging strategy.
(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jonathan Oatis)