Short sellers who fled SOXQ during September's semiconductor rally are back. After collapsing 61% over the prior month, short interest has reversed sharply — jumping 58% in a single week to 6.9% of float as of September 25.
That's a complete U-turn from the picture just days ago. The previous ORTEX note, published September 23, described a short book in retreat. The data has changed materially since then.
The numbers make the reversal unmistakable. Short interest hit a multi-week low of around 608,000 shares in mid-September. By September 25 it had climbed back to 942,000 shares. The biggest single-day jump came on September 23, when short interest rose 45% in one session.
The ETF itself is up 6.2% on the week and 9.3% over the past month. Shorts are rebuilding positions into strength — not chasing a falling stock.
The ORTEX short score sits at 34.9 as of September 24. That's down from 49.4 on September 14, when the short book was heavier. The score suggests bearish conviction remains below mid-month levels, even as the raw share count rebounds.
Availability has been the most volatile part of this story. It stood at 957% on September 21 — loose, plenty of supply. By September 25 it had compressed to 430%. A week ago it was above 1,300%.
Those swings are large, but 430% still represents a well-supplied lending pool. There is no borrow squeeze here. Shorts can add positions without material friction.
Cost to borrow rose 53% over the week to 1.05%. That sounds dramatic. In absolute terms it is not — 1.05% is a cheap borrow. The 52-week low in availability was 9.8%, hit in mid-August when the short book peaked above 1.7 million shares. The borrow market is nowhere near that stress level now.
The put-call ratio sits at 0.68, roughly 1.4 standard deviations below the 20-day mean of 0.72. Call buying has dominated for several consecutive sessions. The PCR has trended lower since early September, when it was running above 0.75.
That options positioning contradicts the short interest rebuild. The options market still skews bullish. Short sellers rebuilding into a call-heavy tape face a crowded trade in the other direction.
See the live data behind this article on ORTEX.
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