Pacific Gold Corp fka PCFG

[blue dog]

Couple dumb questions about shorting...

First, here is my background understanding of the issue:

(1) The data that that Star Gazer cites shows that 45% of the transactions were "short" transactions. First off, let me confirm what that means: 45% of sellers did not own shares to sell but instead "sold" now because they believes that the price will drop, enabling them to make up the short shares later at a cheaper price.

(2) Only MMs can short penny stocks, right? In other words, for any non-penny stock that has options and the like, a retail trader like me can short stocks. But as I understand it, retail traders cannot short penny stocks like PCFG.

(3) Assuming that the sellers are not trying to drive the price down as an end in itself (e.g., to buy at the lower price), the fact that 45% of sales are short in a normal market would be a data point that might make a neutral actor (non-basher, non-cheerleader) think that the stock price is heading downward.

(4) Here in pennystocks, the assumptions in (3) above are not particularly likely to hold true (i.e., shorters often have the objective of driving the price down, this is not a normal market). So the fact that 45% of sellers are short does not give a neutral actor as much negative as it would under the assumptions in (3) above.

(5) Where or not the assumptions in (3) above hold true, shorters can get squeezed if the price of the stock goes up, not down, and the shorters have to purchase at the higher price (thus driving the price even higher) to cover their short position.

Here are my dumb questions:

(a) Does the foregoing background miss anything?

(b) How soon after selling short must shorters cover their position?

FINRA Shorting Numbers for Today...

20120320|PCFG|399550|0|886378|O

or 45%

Un-Friggen Believable!

Thanks in advance for any help on this topic.
GL