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Journal of Finance Vol. 57 No. 5 2002

An Investigation of the Informational Role of Short Interest in the Nasdaq Market

Hemang Desai1; K. Ramesh2; S. Ramu Thiagarajan3; Bala V. Balachandran4

1 Southern Methodist University · 2 Analysis Group/Economics, Boston, MA, · 3 Mellon Capital Management, San Francisco, CA, · 4 Institute of Semitic Studies

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between the level of short interest and stock returns in the Nasdaq market from June 1988 through December 1994. We find that heavily shorted firms experience significant negative abnormal returns ranging from −0.76 to −1.13 percent per month after controlling for the market, size, book‐to‐market, and momentum factors. These negative returns increase with the level of short interest, indicating that a higher level of short interest is a stronger bearish signal. We find that heavily shorted firms are more likely to be delisted compared to their size, book‐to‐market, and momentum matched control firms.

DOI
10.1111/0022-1082.00495
Volume
57
Issue
5
Pages
2263-2287
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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