Am still amazed that traders, both amateur and professional, do not comprehend that every share sold short creates an additional share “long” in the float. And that shares can be lent multiple times if the buyers hold them in margin accounts. Back Office 101.

(2) Say a company has 100 shares outstanding, but short interest is reported to be 150%(!)of the outstanding. On the brokers’ books there will be 250 shares long, and 150 shares short. The net amount (250-150) will always equal the actual shares outstanding.

(3)Please note that in this example, the short position is actually only 60% of the tradable float (150/250), not 150% (150/100). It’s also why high-short interest stocks are pretty liquid. A larger tradable float.