JETS, the U.S. Global Jets ETF, presents an unusual story this week — short sellers have been cutting exposure at a rapid clip, yet the fund still carries one of the higher short interest readings in the ETF universe.
The headline shift is in the scale of short-position unwinding. Short interest has collapsed by more than 40% over the past month, falling from roughly 10.7 million shares borrowed in early June to 6.2 million now — equal to 22.6% of the free float. A month ago, every share in the lending pool was fully committed, with availability at just 12% on June 2nd. Today, availability has more than doubled back above 122%, meaning the borrow market is materially looser. Cost to borrow has followed the same direction, easing from above 6% in late May to 3.6% — its lowest point in six weeks. The story here is not a squeeze in progress; it is one that already ran its course, and shorts have been exiting into the relief.
Options positioning adds an important nuance. The put/call ratio is running at 2.52, almost exactly in line with its 20-day average of 2.53, and the z-score is near zero — meaning the level of downside protection is nothing unusual for this name. What is striking is that a PCR above 2.5 is essentially the baseline for JETS. Options traders have maintained a persistently bearish posture for months, with the 52-week PCR range stretching from a low of 0.76 all the way up to 3.81. The current reading is parked in the middle of that range, suggesting neither fresh fear nor any particular complacency. Positioning looks cautious by habit rather than by panic.
The ORTEX short score of 68.2 places the fund in the upper third of short-pressure readings across the universe, though it has eased modestly from a recent peak near 69.4 at the start of July. The score has been tracking the slow unwind — it was already at 67.8 on June 24th, edged higher as positions briefly stabilised, and is now drifting back down. That gradual fade in the score is consistent with shorts continuing to cover rather than rebuild. The fund itself gave back 2.1% on the week and 2.5% on Tuesday alone, retracing part of a striking 16% gain over the prior month — a rally that likely drove much of the short covering.
The backdrop for the underlying holdings matters here. Airline stocks rallied hard through May and June, a move that created painful conditions for the large short book that had built up against JETS. The borrow market tells that story clearly — availability was near zero, cost to borrow was elevated, and short interest was running above 10 million shares. The unwind since then has been orderly and sustained, not a violent snap. With availability now well above 100% and borrowing costs modest, there is no structural impediment to new shorts rebuilding if sentiment in the sector turns. Whether it does will depend on the next round of airline earnings updates and any shifts in fuel or demand data — those will be the catalysts worth watching as this ETF's short book finds its new equilibrium.
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