iShares Trust - iShares Russell 2000 ETF
ARCAIWM short sellers extended their retreat for a third consecutive week — short interest has now dropped to 26.2% of the free float, the lowest reading since early May, yet bears still hold one of the heaviest positions in the ETF universe. The covering pace has slowed but not stopped. Short interest fell another 1.6% on the week to roughly 75.9 million shares, down from 78.8 million…
IWM put-call ratio surges to 3.25, highest in 52 weeks and 4.15 standard deviations above the 20-day mean, signaling extreme options market defensiveness.
IWM short sellers extended their retreat for a third consecutive week — short interest has now dropped to 26.2% of the free float, the lowest reading since early May, yet bears still hold one of the heaviest positions…
IWM is in the second week of a sustained short-covering rally — short interest has now dropped to 27% of the free float, down from 30.8% just two weeks ago, yet the bearish read on small-caps remains far above anything…
Snapshot as of 5 Aug 2026
IWM ends the week with its short base pulling back from last week's surge, yet the overall level of skepticism toward small-caps remains historically elevated — a tension worth watching as the Russell 2000 slips back…
IWM heads into July with short interest climbing sharply and the options market running more defensive than it has been in weeks — a notable shift for the Russell 2000 benchmark as small-caps trade near $300. The…
IWM enters the week with options markets flashing a level of defensiveness not seen in the past twelve months — even as short sellers continue their steady retreat. The options signal is the standout this week. The…
IWM heads into the week with a split personality: short sellers are quietly trimming exposure, while options traders have just flashed one of their most defensive readings of the past year. The short interest story has…
IWM has posted a 6.4% gain this week, yet the bears have barely flinched — and the lending market is quietly tightening around them. Short interest on the iShares Russell 2000 ETF remains deeply entrenched at 32.4% of…
IWM heads into the back half of May with a rare tension: the largest short interest build has been quietly unwinding, yet options positioning is running at its most defensive level of the past year. Short interest on…
IWM — the iShares Russell 2000 ETF — has bounced hard off its April lows, but the options market is sending the most defensive signal of the past year, and short interest remains near a third of the free float. The…
Why this matters — Three distinct ORTEX data signals have converged on IWM, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF, within days of each other. Utilization has hit its 52-week high, cost to borrow has surged 63% in a week, and…
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