Weak shorts are people who bet that a stock or other asset will go down in price. They’re called weak because they don’t have a lot of money to risk. They’ll sell their position quickly if they see the price starting to go up. To limit their losses, weak shorts usually set a strict rule to sell if the price rises too much. Weak shorts are similar to weak longs, which bet that the price will go up. But weak longs use long positions instead.
Understanding Weak Shorts
Many small investors, rather than big financial firms, often hold weak short positions because they don’t have as much money to invest. But even big investors might end up in this category if they’re financially tight and can’t invest more.
Weak shorts can make stock prices swing a lot. If a stock starts to rise, those with weak short positions might rush to buy it back, pushing the price even higher. This can make other short-sellers nervous and they might also rush to buy the stock to cover their losses.
When the stock weakens again, those with weak short positions might start short-selling again. Even if they don’t have much money, they might strongly believe in their strategy. Heavy short-selling can make the stock price drop quickly, causing more ups and downs.
For small traders who buy and sell stocks quickly, having weak short positions can be good. They can sell early if a stock starts to look strong, reducing their risk and keeping their money for other trades that might make them money.
How to Bet Against Weak Shorts
Traders often search for stocks with lots of people betting against them, which can signal a chance for the stock to go up suddenly. This is called a short squeeze. Stocks heavily bet against by regular investors are more likely to have a short squeeze than those bet against by big institutions like hedge funds.
One way to spot regular investors betting against a stock is by using special trading software. This software can show who owns most of the stock and who’s making big trades. If a stock doesn’t have many big investors, not many big trades, and lots of people betting against it, it’s likely filled with regular investors betting against it.
Traders can wait for the stock price to get stronger, maybe even go past a point where many short-sellers have decided to cut their losses. When this happens, traders can buy the stock, expecting it to go up even more as regular investors betting against it have to give up and buy the stock back.
Weak Short vs. the Put/Call Ratio
Puts offer another method for betting on a stock’s price going down. The put/call ratio helps measure how many puts are bought compared to calls, which are bets that profit if the stock price goes up. This ratio shows when traders are very negative or positive about a stock. It can act as a sign that the stock’s direction might change soon.
Limitations of Using Weak Shorts
Predicting the number of weak shorts is tricky, and it’s hard to know if they’re holding short positions because the stock is dropping. Even if they’re weak shorts, they might still end up making money, so investing in them might not be smart.
Trying to push weak shorts out of their positions might make the price jump temporarily, but if there isn’t any positive news or changes in the stock’s fundamentals or technical aspects, more buyers might not come in, and the price might keep going down.
Weak shorts are a strategy that’s tough to measure accurately. We don’t know exactly how many weak shorts there are or how weak their positions are.