ADF Regulation SHO - Short Sale Trade Data

Pursuant to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission request, FINRA makes short sale trade data publicly available for off-exchange (OTC) trades in exchange-listed securities reported to FINRA’s Alternative Display Facility (ADF) .  FINRA makes two types of files available: (1) Daily Short Sale Volume Files; and (2) Monthly Short Sale Transaction Files (collectively, the Short Sale Files).

The Daily Short Sale Volume Files provide aggregated volume by security for all short sale trades executed and reported to the ADF during normal market hours.  The Monthly Short Sale Transaction Files provide detailed trade activity of all short sale trades executed and reported to the ADF during normal market hours, as well as after-hours. The Short Sale Files include only trades reported to the ADF for public dissemination purposes (i.e., media-reported trades).

As discussed more fully in Information Notice 5/10/19, the following key points about the Short Sale Files may help avoid misperceptions regarding the data.

  • The Short Sale Files exclude any trading activity that is not publicly disseminated. As a result, some offsetting buying activity related to reported short selling would not be reflected in the Daily File and may result in the appearance of a higher concentration of short sale volume to total volume.
  • The Short Sale Files are not consolidated with exchange data. To obtain a complete picture of the short sale volume to total volume for a particular exchange-listed stock, market participants must combine data from the separate files for each of the TRFs and the ADF, as well as from each exchange.
  • The Short Sale Files do not—and are not intended to—equate to bi-monthly reported short interest position information. The short interest data reflects aggregate short positions held by market participants at a specific moment in time on two discrete days each month, while the Daily Short Sale Volume File reflects the aggregate volume of trades executed and reported as short sales on each trade date.

For additional information regarding the available data, please see Information Notice 5/10/19 and Information Notice 9/29/09 or contact FINRA Support Center at (800) 321-6273.

Daily Short Sale Volume Files and help guide

Monthly Short Sale Transaction Files and formatting guide

View information about the Regulation SHO Pilot Program.