If you don't believe or understand the explanation below please call FINRA and they will confirm it.
Risicare Member Profile Risicare Member Level Share Thursday, April 14, 2011 4:23:12 PM
Re: ccsykes post# 78758 Post # of 79120
The short data that comes out daily means next to nothing in regards to people shorting the stock. It is useless for finding the actual short interest the only numbers useful are the bi-weekly ones.
Only the first leg of a trade is marked on those numbers and many/most transactions are done on a riskless principal basis. So for example Joe is offering 100@1$, Mary comes along and lifts the offer for 100@1$ So the market maker sells 100 shares to Mary (which he is then short) he then immediately buys the 100 shares from Joe which flattens his position. Joe and Mary have got what they want now and the MM has no position. That transaction is marked in those numbers as a short sale as the first leg of the trade is what gets marked. So you get 100 marked short but nobody is short.