Shorts gig may be over. why?, page-172

On 24 June 2015, the Shorts closed at 28,049,071 or 7.99%. On 22 October 2015, the Shorts peaked at 60,585,841, or 17.24%.

On 8 December 2015, they closed at 29.8M shares, within 1.75m shares of their 24 June position).

Since then, 481,217,000 shares have traded whilst Shorts have reduced by 32,539,770, accounting for 6.76% of the traded stock, in that time.

The Shorts are now likely below where they were when the PSD presentation of 24 June 2015 was made yet even if so, the historical Shorts throughout the pre-PSD June presentation, and during the May period were largely steady in the 20 - 25M range. If any of these Shorts are still there, then they are still sitting on a $6.00+ trading differential. That doesn't present as an impending squeeze, but rather more likely a slow, steady soaking up of sold out shares.

Since 23 October 2015, daily ASX turnover has averaged 14.5M shares including the super-heavy volume days of 26/11 (77m) and 27/11 (106m), and again of 30/11 (48m), 1/12 (50m) and 2/12 (50m), yet on each of those days, the Shorts reduced by 2.2M (26/11), 3.8M (27/11), 3.3m (30/11), 1.55M (1/12), and 500,000 (2/12).

So, on the super volume days during which 331m shares ultimately traded, the Shorts reduced by 11.35m shares, or 3.43% of traded volume.

Outside of the super volume days however, 149.1m shares have traded (since 23/11), whilst the Shorts have reduced by 21.2m, or 14.2% of traded volume.

It is not on the super heavy or even heavy volume days that the Shorts have been closing out. It has been on the normal /usual trading days where daily trading volume has averaged (ex-the super volume days, since 23/10) 5.33m shares traded.

So far, today, through to 12.50pm, with >1/2 the trading day still to go, the ASX traded volume is 6.13m shares which is already up 15% on the ex-super volume days average, since 23/10. None of this however suggests (or seems to suggest) that the Shorts are either pushing the volumes today, that they are being squeezed, or that they need to, as the soaking up seems to be continuing as per the 3.43% -:- 14.2% traded volume comparison, above. But historically, the Shorts are quite likely back to their pre-PSD presentation (and more broadly, June and May positions) which is how the ASIC figures now seem to be reading.