iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF (IYM) Short Interest Ratio & Short Volume

Short interest is the volume of iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF shares that have been sold short but have not yet been closed out or covered. As of May 15th, investors have sold 405,000 shares of IYM short. Learn More on iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF's current short interest.

The short interest ratio, also known as the "days to cover ratio", is calculated by dividing the number of shares of a stock sold short divided by its average trading volume. A short interest ratio ranging between 1 and 4 generally indicates strong positive sentiment about a stock and a lack of short sellers. A short interest ratio of 10 or greater indicates strong pessimism about a stock. IYM shares currently have a short interest ratio of 17.0. Learn More on iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF's short interest ratio.

iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF saw a increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 405,000 shares, an increase of 2.8% from the previous total of 393,800 shares. Changes in short volume can be used to identify positive and negative investor sentiment. Investors that short sell a stock are betting that its price will decline in the future. An increase in short sale volume suggests bearish (negative) sentiment among investors. A decrease on short sale volume suggests bullish (positive) sentiment.

Here is how the short interest of companies compare to iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF: Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bull 2x Shares (9.45%), Fidelity MSCI Materials Index ETF (0.08%), Sprott Gold Miners ETF (0.13%), SPDR S&P North American Natural Resources ETF (0.02%), Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bull 2X Shares (10.24%), VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF (0.76%), iShares Global Materials ETF (0.18%), First Trust Materials AlphaDEX Fund (0.14%), iShares Global Timber & Forestry ETF (0.43%), Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Materials ETF (0.07%),

As of the most recent reporting period, the following stocks had the largest short interest positions: Invesco QQQ ($29.20 billion), Strategy Incorporated ($10.88 billion), iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF ($10.04 billion), Capital One Financial Co. ($5.51 billion), Charter Communications, Inc. ($5.00 billion), Super Micro Computer, Inc. ($4.43 billion), Apollo Global Management, Inc. ($4.02 billion), Hims & Hers Health, Inc. ($3.65 billion), VanEck Semiconductor ETF ($3.27 billion), and Coinbase Global, Inc. ($3.10 billion). View all of the most shorted stocks.

Short selling IYM is an investing strategy that aims to generate trading profit from iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF as its price is falling. IYM shares are trading down $0.63 today. To short a stock, an investor borrows shares, sells them and buys the shares back on the public market later to return it to the lender. Short sellers are betting that a stock will decline in price. If the stock does drop after selling, the short seller buys it back at a lower price and returns it to the lender. The difference between the sell price and the buy price is the trader's profit.

A short squeeze for iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF occurs when it has a large amount of short interest and its stock appreciates in price. This forces short sellers to cover their short interest positions by buying actual shares of IYM, which in turn drives the price of the stock up even further.

Short interest is typically published by a stock exchange once per month. However, NASDAQ publishes a report for U.S. stocks, including IYM, twice per month. The most recent reporting period available is May, 15 2025.