The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF saw short interest jump 11% this week to reach 3.37 million shares, while the fund gained 0.4% and rose 9% over the month. Utilisation spiked to 7.89%, the highest since early April, as institutional holders shifted positions.
VTI closed at $352.05 on April 24. The fund rose 0.6% on the day and 0.4% for the week. Over the past month, VTI gained 8.9% as broad market strength lifted the total-market benchmark.
Short interest stood at 3.37 million shares as of April 23. That represents 0.21% of the float. Shares short rose 6% day-over-day and climbed 10.8% over the week. The weekly increase marks the sharpest build since late March. Over the past month, short interest edged down 0.9% after peaking at 4.15 million shares on March 27.
Cost to borrow averaged 0.48% APR on April 23. The rate has fluctuated between 0.31% and 0.64% over the past 30 days. CTB fell 10% from a week ago and dropped 9.6% from a month prior. The current level sits in the middle of the recent range, well below the late-March peak above 0.60%.
Utilisation reached 7.89% on April 23. That marks the highest reading since April 8. The metric jumped from 6.35% a day earlier and climbed from 5.66% a week ago. Utilisation remains well below the 52-week high of 18.59%, which occurred on March 27 when short interest spiked above 4 million shares. The March surge coincided with the fund's recent lows before the April rally began.
The put-call ratio stood at 0.64 on April 24. That sits above the 20-day mean of 0.62. The z-score of 1.17 indicates the current PCR is roughly one standard deviation above the recent average, suggesting moderately elevated put activity relative to calls. Over the past year, the ratio has ranged from 0.32 to 0.70. The current reading is near the upper end of that band.
Rakuten Investment Management added 47.5 million shares in the quarter ended December 31. The position now represents 0.58% of shares outstanding. Vanguard Group, as the ETF sponsor, increased its stake by 2.3 million shares to 62.6 million. WealthNavi raised its holding by 540,000 shares to 12.9 million as of March 31.
Betterment trimmed its position by 611,000 shares to 25.2 million. Ballentine Partners reduced its stake by 423,000 shares to 5.7 million. Creative Planning cut holdings by 137,000 shares to 6.1 million. Several advisory platforms showed marginal adjustments, reflecting routine rebalancing across client portfolios.
The next dividend announcement is expected in the coming months based on the historical pattern. VTI declared a $0.9982 cash dividend in January 2026 for payment in March. Prior distributions occurred quarterly. Watch for further institutional position updates in May when Q1 2026 13F filings become available.
Short interest has reversed from the late-March decline and built steadily through April. The 11% weekly increase is the largest since the March spike unwound. If utilisation continues climbing from the current 7.89% level, borrow costs may firm from the recent decline.
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