PNQI Short Builds Fast — Options Traders Stay Bullish

Short interest in PNQI has exploded over the past month. The Invesco NASDAQ Internet ETF has seen borrowed shares rise from near-zero to 2% of float. Options traders aren't buying the bearish thesis.

A Month of Rapid Short Building

The numbers are stark. Shares short stood at roughly 4,600 on July 7. By August 12 they had reached 285,000 — a 61-fold increase in five weeks.

The weekly pace has been sustained. Short interest rose 88% in the past week alone. That puts the 30-day change at over 6,000%.

At 2% of float, the absolute level remains low by most standards. But the velocity is unusual for an ETF with this profile.

The Borrow Market Tells a Different Story

Despite the surge in borrowed shares, the lending pool remains far from tight. Availability sits at 188% — meaning nearly two shares are available to borrow for every one already borrowed.

Cost to borrow has also eased sharply. At 1.22%, it is down 58% over the past week. A week ago CTB briefly spiked above 2.9%. That pressure has faded.

The combination — rising short interest, falling borrow cost, rising availability — points to lenders adding supply faster than shorts are consuming it. There is no borrow squeeze building here.

Options Traders Lean Bullish

The put-call ratio on PNQI hit 0.14 on August 12. That is 2.6 standard deviations above the 20-day mean of 0.13 — still a heavily call-dominant posture.

At 0.14, roughly one put is traded for every seven calls. Options positioning has been structurally bullish for weeks. The PCR has barely moved from 0.125 across most of August.

That diverges from the short interest trend. Shorts are building. Options traders are not reflecting the same concern.

Short Score Climbs

The ORTEX short score for PNQI has moved from 44.5 on July 29 to 54.4 on August 11. That is a 10-point gain in under two weeks. The score now sits above the midpoint of its range.

The score reflects the convergence of rising short interest against a still-comfortable lending environment.

---

What to watch: Whether short interest continues building toward 3–4% of float — the point where it may become a more significant positioning story — and whether options traders begin rotating toward puts to align with the shorts.