What you believe to be short interest is actually not the case. Anyone who understands shorting knows how impossible finding that many shares to borrow is, and a broker who would take on that risk. Look at it from a long's perspective. How much sense would it make to buy a large position knowing in advance your upside is only two ticks, while the potential downside could bankrupt you, your children, and your grand children.
Here is a link to the SSHS short interest over time:
Short Interest Reporting FINRA Consolidates the Collection of Short Interest Data
Effective June 30, 2008, firms must report short interest positions in all securities—including NASDAQ, NYSE Alternext US LLC,1 NYSE, NYSE Arca and OTC equity securities—through a single source on a bi-monthly basis: FINRA's Web-based Regulation Filing Applications (RFA) system (see Regulatory Notice 08-13). Firms are reminded that they must designate each issue symbol contained in their short interest reports with the correct exchange/market code.
Changes to the Frequency of Short Interest Reporting
On March 6, 2007, the SEC approved amendments to Rule 33602 that increase the frequency of short interest reporting from monthly to twice a month. Effective September 7, 2007, member firms will be required to file short positions with FINRA using the Web-based RFA twice a month (see NTM 07-24). The mid-month Short Interest Report will continue to be based on short positions held by members on the settlement date of the 15th of each month. If the 15th falls on a weekend or another non-settlement date, the designated settlement date will be the previous business day on which transactions settled. The end-of-month Short Interest Report will be based on short positions held on the last business day of the month on which transactions settle
I hope this helps as it is explained by people who have actually contacted FINRA. If there is anything else you don't understand. I will gladly do my best to help.
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