OMAH, the Vistashares Target 15 Berkshire Select Income ETF, has seen unusual turbulence in its lending market this week — striking for a fund that markets itself on stability.
The most notable development is a sharp swing in short positioning. Short interest climbed 45% over the past week to roughly 2% of the free float — low in absolute terms, but the pace of that build is hard to ignore given where it was just a month ago. In early July, short interest registered at zero for several consecutive sessions. It has since oscillated aggressively, hitting a recent peak of roughly 982,000 shares on August 6 before pulling back 26% in a single session on August 11. That kind of intraday volatility in a dividend ETF is unusual, and likely reflects ETF creation/redemption mechanics rather than directional conviction, but it keeps the lending picture choppy.
Availability has tightened meaningfully this week. The ratio of shares available to borrow relative to those already shorted dropped to around 180% — down from over 1,600% just ten days ago. That is still in normal territory, and not a sign of stress, but the direction is notable. The 52-week low availability hit 3.2%, reached in late July when utilization briefly topped 97%. Borrowing costs have also edged higher: cost to borrow climbed to 1.31% on August 11, up 27% on the week, though it remains well below the peaks of late July when it briefly touched 2.2%. This is a low-cost borrow overall — no squeeze signal here.
Options positioning sits mildly above its recent average. The put/call ratio is running at 0.09, about one standard deviation above its 20-day mean — not alarming for a yield-focused product where calls dominate the flow. The ORTEX short score of 43.7 has drifted up from around 29 a week ago, reflecting the recent short-interest build, but remains in the middle of the range and does not indicate elevated bearish pressure.
The fund's income profile is the main reason most holders are here. OMAH has paid consistent monthly dividends throughout 2026, with payments ranging between roughly $0.227 and $0.238 per share. At an $18.50 close, that annualises to a yield in the region of 14-15% — the "Target 15" in the fund name. The price is down about 2% over the past month and off 2.8% on the week, movements more consistent with routine NAV drift than any structural concern.
With no upcoming earnings event and valuation data absent for an ETF structure, the story to watch is whether the lending market continues to tighten — and whether the sharp oscillations in short interest reflect genuine repositioning or simply mechanical ETF arbitrage activity settling.
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