They are not shorting the stock themselves. The scenario discussed above was whether they might lend shares to short sellers.
To me I can't see any reason why they would "trash the stock" as you say. There is simply no benefit in it to them.
Lets say hypothetically, they lend 20% of their holding (or 1% of A2M's overall shares) and that goes on to be shorted.
1) If the SP decreases, the shorters profit whereas Vanguard would see a decrease in the value of the other 80% of their holding. This would far outweigh what they make in lending fees/interest etc
2) if the SP increases, Vanguard profits on their main holding + still rakes in the interest /borrowing fees.
Explain to me why on earth they would prefer outcome 1 over outcome 2 - it would make no sense.
A2M Price at posting:
$5.98 Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
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