Also known as:short · shorts · shorted · shorting · short sell · short selling · short sale · short-sell
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
To sell a security or commodity by a short sale.
Sources & Authorities· 22 primary sources
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cases
Statutes
How it applies
Common Examples
6
Removal of Short Sale Suit
Seth Shapiro shorted 50,000 shares of a tech stock. The issuer sued him in state court for market manipulation. Shapiro filed a notice of removal in the federal district court for the district where the action was pending, attaching all process and pleadings served on him.
Short Sale Profit Realization
Alex Rivera shorted 10,000 shares of oil futures. The price dropped as expected after the trade. Rivera closed the position and realized a substantial profit.
Short Position Loss Scenario
Jordan Hale shorted shares of a retail chain. Unexpected positive earnings caused the price to rise sharply. Hale covered the position at a significant loss.
Taylor Quinn shorted commodity contracts on margin. A sudden price spike triggered a margin call from the broker. Quinn deposited additional funds to maintain the position.
Short Sale Settlement Process
Morgan Ellis shorted equity securities through a brokerage account. The trade settled on the standard T+2 cycle. Ellis delivered the borrowed shares without incident.
Short Sale Dividend Obligation
Casey Morgan shorted dividend-paying stock before the record date. The broker required payment of the dividend to the lender. Morgan covered the position after the ex-dividend date.
Common questions
Frequently Asked
1
What does it mean to short a security?+
To short a security means selling it by a short sale, typically in anticipation of a price decline.
Supporting sources
410 U.S. 113 (1973)Constitutional Law
…and to color one's thinking and conclusions about abortion. In addition, the normal 266-day human gestation period is so short that the pregnancy will come to term before the usual appellate process is complete. If that termination makes a case moot, pregnancy litigation seldom will survive much beyond the trial…