Short-selling activity on the Toronto Stock Exchange in March offered more evidence that short sellers are in retreat as 2024 progresses amidst expectations for lower inflation and interest rates.
One clear sign is the tumble in the short position for the iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF to 6.1 per cent of float, down considerably from 23.1 per cent in March of last year (short sales data supplied by S3 Partners).
Short sellers are also seeing shorted companies turning the tables on them more often. A recent occurrence was Nasdaq-listed Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc., the biotechnology firm founded in 2014 at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.
Short interest in the company soared from 3.2 per cent of float in early January to 15.5 per cent in March, near the level where AstraZeneca PLC submitted a takeover bid for the company at US$21 per share — almost double the market price. Fusion Pharmaceuticals is developing a new cancer treatment…
