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Go Down Fighting: Short Sellers vs. Firms

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  • Owen Lamont

Abstract

I study battles between short sellers and firms. Firms use a variety of methods to impede short selling, including legal threats, investigations, lawsuits, and various technical actions intended to create a short squeeze. These actions create short sale constraints. Consistent with the hypothesis that short sale constraints allow stocks to be overpriced, firms taking anti-shorting actions have in the subsequent year very low abnormal returns of about -2 percent per month.

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  • Owen Lamont, 2004. "Go Down Fighting: Short Sellers vs. Firms," NBER Working Papers 10659, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:10659
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    Cited by:

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    3. Boulton, Thomas J. & Braga-Alves, Marcus V., 2010. "The skinny on the 2008 naked short-sale restrictions," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 397-421, November.
    4. Nagel, Stefan, 2005. "Short sales, institutional investors and the cross-section of stock returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(2), pages 277-309, November.
    5. Stambaugh, Robert F. & Yu, Jianfeng & Yuan, Yu, 2012. "The short of it: Investor sentiment and anomalies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(2), pages 288-302.
    6. de Jong, Abe & Dutordoir, Marie & Verwijmeren, Patrick, 2011. "Why do convertible issuers simultaneously repurchase stock? An arbitrage-based explanation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 113-129, April.
    7. Anna Scherbina & Bernd Schlusche, 2014. "Asset price bubbles: a survey," Quantitative Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(4), pages 589-604, April.
    8. Harrison Hong & David A. Sraer, 2016. "Speculative Betas," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 71(5), pages 2095-2144, October.
    9. Tibor Neugebauer & Sascha Füllbrunn, 2013. "Deflating Bubbles in Experimental Asset Markets: Comparative Statics of Margin Regulations," LSF Research Working Paper Series 13-14, Luxembourg School of Finance, University of Luxembourg.
    10. Ms. Anna Scherbina, 2013. "Asset Price Bubbles: A Selective Survey," IMF Working Papers 2013/045, International Monetary Fund.
    11. Kevin (Min) Zhao, 2012. "The uptick rule and stock returns: an analysis of Regulation SHO on the NYSE," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(8), pages 633-649, April.
    12. John Thanassoulis, 2013. "Short-Term Shareholders, Bubbles, And CEO Myopia," Economics Series Working Papers 663, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    13. Chang, Eric C. & Cheng, Joseph W. & Pinegar, J. Michael & Yu, Yinghui, 2012. "Short-sale constraints: Reductions in costs of capital or overvaluation? Evidence from Hong Kong," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 506-520.
    14. Steve Thomas, 2006. "Discussion of Short Sales Constraints and Momentum in Stock Returns," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3‐4), pages 616-631, April.
    15. Blocher, Jesse & Reed, Adam V. & Van Wesep, Edward D., 2013. "Connecting two markets: An equilibrium framework for shorts, longs, and stock loans," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(2), pages 302-322.
    16. Devaney, Michael, 2012. "Financial crisis, REIT short-sell restrictions and event induced volatility," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 219-226.
    17. Takahashi, Hidetomo, 2010. "Short-sale inflow and stock returns: Evidence from Japan," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(10), pages 2403-2412, October.
    18. Juan Carlos Hatchondo, 2005. "Asymmetric information and the lack of international portfolio diversification," Working Paper 05-07, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
    19. Steve Thomas, 2006. ""Discussion of" Short Sales Constraints and Momentum in Stock Returns," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3-4), pages 616-631.
    20. Kai, Guo & Conlon, John R., 2007. "Why Bubble-Bursting Is Unpredictable: Welfare Effects Of Anti-Bubble Policy When Central Banks Make Mistakes," MPRA Paper 5927, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    21. Yanmei Sun & Xiaoting Sun & Weixing Wu, 2021. "Who detects corporate fraud under the thriving of the new media? Evidence from Chinese‐listed firms," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(S1), pages 1313-1343, April.

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    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading

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