A sale of a financial security, commodity, or other good that one does not own with the contractual obligation to make delivery of the good to the buyer at a date in the future
Sale of a security by one who does not own the security He borrows it from his broker He sells it with the expectation that the price of the security will decrease Then he will buy it back at a cheaper price, return the borrowed stock and make a profit If the price goes up instead of down he must buy it at the higher price and he loses money See also Long
The sale of shares of a security that the seller does not own Such sales are made in anticipation of a decline in the price of the security to enable the seller to cover the sale with a purchase at a later date, at a lower price, and thus at a profit Securities and Exchange Commission rules allow investors to sell short only when a stock price is moving upward This prevents "pool operators" from driving down a stock price through heavy short-selling, then buying the shares for a large profit
An agreement between a mortgage borrower in distress and the lender that allows the borrower to sell the house and remit the proceeds to the lender It is an alternative to foreclosure, or a deed in lieu of foreclosure
A trading strategy where a trader sells a stock that he doesn't own (the stock is borrowed from a trader holding a long position in the stock) in anticipation of a price drop A short position has an unlimited loss potential if the stock's price increases Selling short is only allowed on an uptick (except for market makers) Also see Cover
An action wherein a party, by agreement, borrows stock and sells it, hoping to buy it back later in the open market at a lower price before returning it to the lending party The difference in the sell price and the later buy price, if lower, is profit Short-selling is speculative and is suitable only for very well-informed and well capitalized investors It can result in margin calls and substantial losses for the unwary
Selling shares of a stock that you don't own by borrowing the shares in which to sell The goal is to buy them buy at a cheaper price for a gain if you think the stock is going to drop
The practice of selling first and buying later The seller sells a security not owned on the expectation that the market price will fall and the seller will be able to buy the security at a price lower than that at which it was sold
Investors who borrow stock and sell it to someone else are betting the shares go down in price Then, they can buy back the stock at a lower price and pocket the difference as profit Going "short" is the opposite of going "long," or owning shares for the long haul
The sale of securities with the expectation of their repurchase at lower prices They are not in the seller's possession, but are usually borrowed for delivery to the buyer
A sale in which the seller borrows the stock certificates or other property delivered to the buyer At a later date, the seller either purchases similar stock or property necessary to "cover" the sale, and delivers it to the lender or delivers to the lender stock or property that he or she already held but did not wish to transfer at an earlier date For income tax purposes, there is no gain or loss on the transaction until the short sale is covered by purchase and transfer Special rules apply in determining whether the gain or loss on a short sale is a long-term or short-term capital gain or loss
The sale of a security or commodities futures not owned by the seller at the time of the trade Short sales are usually made in anticipation of a decline in the price
Selling of a security not owned or held by the seller Short selling is often used as a strategy by investors to profit from an expected decrease in the price of a security By selling short, the seller receives credit as if the sale of a long, or normally held, security had occurred Later, the short seller will buy back the same security, hopefully for a price less than credited from the sale, thus pocketing the difference as a profit Short selling involves unlimited risk and is not suitable for conservative investors
When one sells a stock they do not own, but borrows the security and sells it in the belief that the stock will decline in price A short seller must later buy the stock that was sold short to complete the cycle The short seller's strategy is to buy the stock at a lower price than the price that it was sold short for
The sale of a stock not owned in order to take advantage of an expected stock price decline If the price declines, the stock can be purchased and the short position closed
Investment strategy in which you borrow shares of a security and then sell those shares Investors use this strategy when they believe a security's price will decline If they are right, they can cover their short sale by buying the security at the lower price and returning the shares to the lender
The sale of securities not owned by the seller in the expectation that the price of these securities will fall or as part of an arbitrage A short sale must eventually be covered by a purchase of the securities sold
Sale of an asset that the investor does not own or any sale that is completed by the delivery of a security borrowed by the seller Short selling is a legitimate trading strategy Short sellers assume the risk that they will be able to buy the stock at a more favorable price than the price at which they sold short
An investor who sells stock short borrows shares from a brokerage house and sells them to another buyer Proceeds from the sale go into the shorter's account He must buy those shares back (cover) at some point in time and return them to the lender See Fool FAQ: Shorting Stocks
A transaction in which a market participant sells a security that he or she does not own with the expectation that the price of the security will fall or in connection with an arbitrage strategy A broker/dealer may borrow the needed security on a temporary basis to effect settlement Eventually, however, the broker/dealer must purchase the security in order to redeliver the borrowed security
Short sales are made by people who expect the market to go down In a regular securities transaction, shares are bought first and sold later In a short sale transaction, the sale comes first, the purchase later A short sale is effected by borrowing stock through a broker and selling it at current market price The proceeds of the sale are then held as collateral for the loan of the stock To close out the short position the borrowed stock must be replaced This is done by buying an equivalent number of shares at the then current market price If a short sale is made at $100 and the short can later be closed by buying the stock at $90, there will be $10 per share profit (before any intervening interest on the loan and repayment of any individual income)
The sale of a specified amount of currency not owned by the seller at the time of the trade Short sales are usually made in expectation of a decline in the price
To sell a stock you do not currently own To go short you "borrow" stock from the Broker/Dealer, then sell the stock, with the intent to buy the stock back at a lower price than you had initially had sold it for A short sale can only take place on an 'up tick' or 'zero-plus tick' (See Ticks)