IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/rqfnac/v41y2013i3p567-583.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comparing the information in short sales and put options

Author

Listed:
  • Benjamin Blau
  • Chip Wade

Abstract

Prior work shows that both short sales and put options contain information about future stock prices. In this study, we compare the return predictability in short sales to the return predictability in put options. The motivation for this comparison is based on the theoretical argument that informed traders can choose between short sales and put options when establishing short positions in a particular stocks. Results in this paper suggest that the underperformance of stocks with high short-selling activity is approximately four times larger than the underperformance of stocks with high put-option activity. While stocks that are most likely to face binding short-sale constraints drive the underperformance caused by put-option activity, we still find that short sales are generally more informative about future prices. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin Blau & Chip Wade, 2013. "Comparing the information in short sales and put options," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 567-583, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:rqfnac:v:41:y:2013:i:3:p:567-583
    DOI: 10.1007/s11156-013-0377-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11156-013-0377-5
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11156-013-0377-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Easley & Soeren Hvidkjaer & Maureen O'Hara, 2002. "Is Information Risk a Determinant of Asset Returns?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(5), pages 2185-2221, October.
    2. Jennings, Robert & Starks, Laura, 1986. "Earnings Announcements, Stock Price Adjustment, and the Existence of Option Markets," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 41(1), pages 107-125, March.
    3. Back, Kerry, 1993. "Asymmetric Information and Options," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 6(3), pages 435-472.
    4. Edwards, Amy K. & Hanley, Kathleen Weiss, 2010. "Short selling in initial public offerings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 21-39, October.
    5. Kalok Chan & Y. Peter Chung & Wai-Ming Fong, 2002. "The Informational Role of Stock and Option Volume," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 15(4), pages 1049-1075.
    6. Hemang Desai & K. Ramesh & S. Ramu Thiagarajan & Bala V. Balachandran, 2002. "An Investigation of the Informational Role of Short Interest in the Nasdaq Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(5), pages 2263-2287, October.
    7. Manaster, Steven & Rendleman, Richard J, Jr, 1982. "Option Prices as Predictors of Equilibrium Stock Prices," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 37(4), pages 1043-1057, September.
    8. 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.
    9. Senchack, A. J. & Starks, Laura T., 1993. "Short-Sale Restrictions and Market Reaction to Short-Interest Announcements," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 28(2), pages 177-194, June.
    10. Richard B. Evans & Christopher C. Geczy & Adam V. Reed, 2009. "Failure Is an Option: Impediments to Short Selling and Options Prices," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(5), pages 1955-1980, May.
    11. Asquith, Paul & Pathak, Parag A. & Ritter, Jay R., 2005. "Short interest, institutional ownership, and stock returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(2), pages 243-276, November.
    12. Diamond, Douglas W. & Verrecchia, Robert E., 1987. "Constraints on short-selling and asset price adjustment to private information," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 277-311, June.
    13. Figlewski, Stephen & Webb, Gwendolyn P, 1993. "Options, Short Sales, and Market Completeness," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 48(2), pages 761-777, June.
    14. Jun Pan & Allen M. Poteshman, 2006. "The Information in Option Volume for Future Stock Prices," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 19(3), pages 871-908.
    15. Finucane, Thomas J., 1999. "A new measure of the direction and timing of information flow between markets1," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 2(2), pages 135-151, May.
    16. Bhattacharya, Mihir, 1987. "Price Changes of Related Securities: The Case of Call Options and Stocks," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(1), pages 1-15, March.
    17. Charles Cao & Zhiwu Chen & John M. Griffin, 2005. "Informational Content of Option Volume Prior to Takeovers," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 78(3), pages 1073-1109, May.
    18. Stephan, Jens A & Whaley, Robert E, 1990. "Intraday Price Change and Trading Volume Relations in the Stock and Stock Option Markets," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(1), pages 191-220, March.
    19. Anthony Yanxiang Gu & Chauchen Yang, 2007. "Short Sales Constraints and Return Volatility: Evidence from the Chinese A and H Share Markets," Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies (RPBFMP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 10(04), pages 469-478.
    20. Jianguo Xu, 2007. "Price Convexity and Skewness," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(5), pages 2521-2552, October.
    21. Karl B. Diether & Kuan-Hui Lee & Ingrid M. Werner, 2009. "Short-Sale Strategies and Return Predictability," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(2), pages 575-607, February.
    22. Stephen E. Christophe & Michael G. Ferri & James J. Angel, 2004. "Short-Selling Prior to Earnings Announcements," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 59(4), pages 1845-1876, August.
    23. Michael J. Aitken & Alex Frino & Michael S. McCorry & Peter L. Swan, 1998. "Short Sales Are Almost Instantaneously Bad News: Evidence from the Australian Stock Exchange," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 53(6), pages 2205-2223, December.
    24. Christophe, Stephen E. & Ferri, Michael G. & Hsieh, Jim, 2010. "Informed trading before analyst downgrades: Evidence from short sellers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 85-106, January.
    25. Anthony, Joseph H, 1988. " The Interrelation of Stock and Options Market Trading-Volume Data," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 43(4), pages 949-964, September.
    26. Ekkehart Boehmer & Charles M. Jones & Xiaoyan Zhang, 2008. "Which Shorts Are Informed?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(2), pages 491-527, April.
    27. Kluger, Brian D & Wyatt, Steve B, 1995. "Options and Efficiency: Some Experimental Evidence," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 179-201, June.
    28. Lakonishok, Josef & Vermaelen, Theo, 1986. "Tax-induced trading around ex-dividend days," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 287-319, July.
    29. Engelberg, Joseph E. & Reed, Adam V. & Ringgenberg, Matthew C., 2012. "How are shorts informed?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(2), pages 260-278.
    30. Sugato Chakravarty & Huseyin Gulen & Stewart Mayhew, 2004. "Informed Trading in Stock and Option Markets," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 59(3), pages 1235-1258, June.
    31. Anat R. Admati, Paul Pfleiderer, 1988. "A Theory of Intraday Patterns: Volume and Price Variability," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 1(1), pages 3-40.
    32. Barclay, Michael J. & Warner, Jerold B., 1993. "Stealth trading and volatility : Which trades move prices?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 281-305, December.
    33. Black, Fischer & Scholes, Myron S, 1972. "The Valuation of Option Contracts and a Test of Market Efficiency," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 27(2), pages 399-417, May.
    34. Chan, Kalok & Chung, Y Peter & Johnson, Herb, 1993. "Why Option Prices Lag Stock Prices: A Trading-Based Explanation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 48(5), pages 1957-1967, December.
    35. Danielsen, Bartley R. & Sorescu, Sorin M., 2001. "Why Do Option Introductions Depress Stock Prices? A Study of Diminishing Short Sale Constraints," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 36(4), pages 451-484, December.
    36. Benjamin M. Blau & Bonnie F. Van Ness & Robert A. Van Ness, 2009. "Short Selling and the Weekend Effect for NYSE Securities," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 38(3), pages 603-630, September.
    37. Dechow, Patricia M. & Hutton, Amy P. & Meulbroek, Lisa & Sloan, Richard G., 2001. "Short-sellers, fundamental analysis, and stock returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 77-106, July.
    38. David Easley & Maureen O'Hara & P.S. Srinivas, 1998. "Option Volume and Stock Prices: Evidence on Where Informed Traders Trade," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 53(2), pages 431-465, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Adrian W. K. Cheung & Hung Wan Kot & Eric F. Y. Lam & Harry K. M. Leung, 2020. "Toward understanding short‐selling activity: demand and supply," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(3), pages 2203-2230, September.
    2. Yi‐Wei Chuang & Wei‐Che Tsai & Pei‐Shih Weng & Chi Yin, 2021. "Do put warrants unwind short‐sale restrictions? Further evidence from the Taiwan Stock Exchange," Journal of Futures Markets, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(3), pages 325-348, March.
    3. Siu Kai Choy & Hua Zhang, 2019. "Public news announcements, short-sale restriction and informational efficiency," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 197-229, January.
    4. Félix, Luiz & Kräussl, Roman & Stork, Philip, 2013. "The 2011 European short sale ban on financial stocks: A cure or a curse?," CFS Working Paper Series 2013/17, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    5. Lin, Zih-Ying & Chang, Chuang-Chang & Wang, Yaw-Huei, 2018. "The impacts of asymmetric information and short sales on the illiquidity risk premium in the stock option market," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 152-165.
    6. Chih-Hsiang Chang & Wen-Shan Chiang, 2014. "Conditioned Responses towards Measures Relating to the Capital Cost of Short Sellers: Evidence from Taiwan," Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies (RPBFMP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 17(03), pages 1-27.
    7. Godfrey, Keith R.L., 2016. "Detecting the great short squeeze on Volkswagen," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(PB), pages 323-334.
    8. Paulo Pereira da Silva, 2016. "Did Investors Seeking Short Exposure Move to the CDS Market after the 2011 Short-Sale Bans in European Financial Stocks?," Czech Journal of Economics and Finance (Finance a uver), Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, vol. 66(4), pages 322-353, August.
    9. Switzer, Lorne N., 2023. "Circumventing SEC Rule 201 short sale restrictions with options," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PB).
    10. R. Jared DeLisle & Bong Soo Lee & Nathan Mauck, 2016. "The dynamic relation between options trading, short selling, and aggregate stock returns," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 645-671, October.
    11. Grundy, Bruce D. & Lim, Bryan & Verwijmeren, Patrick, 2012. "Do option markets undo restrictions on short sales? Evidence from the 2008 short-sale ban," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(2), pages 331-348.
    12. Alejandro Bernales & Thanos Verousis & Nikolaos Voukelatos & Mengyu Zhang, 2020. "What do we know about individual equity options?," Journal of Futures Markets, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(1), pages 67-91, January.
    13. Nikolaos Voukelatos & Thanos Verousis, 2019. "Option‐implied information and stock herding," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(4), pages 1429-1442, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. R. Jared DeLisle & Bong Soo Lee & Nathan Mauck, 2016. "The dynamic relation between options trading, short selling, and aggregate stock returns," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 645-671, October.
    2. Benjamin Blau & Tyler Brough, 2015. "Are put-call ratios a substitute for short sales?," Review of Derivatives Research, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 51-73, April.
    3. Blau, Benjamin M. & Wade, Chip, 2012. "Informed or speculative: Short selling analyst recommendations," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 14-25.
    4. Delisle, R. Jared & Lee, Bong Soo & Mauck, Nathan, 2012. "The dynamic relation between short sellers, option traders, and aggregate returns," MPRA Paper 42566, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Muravyev, Dmitriy & Pearson, Neil D. & Paul Broussard, John, 2013. "Is there price discovery in equity options?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(2), pages 259-283.
    6. Benjamin M. Blau & Tyler J. Brough, 2014. "Short Sales and Option Listing Decisions," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 43(3), pages 703-724, September.
    7. Benjamin Blau, 2013. "Informed short sales and option introductions," Annals of Finance, Springer, vol. 9(3), pages 365-382, August.
    8. Blau, Benjamin M. & Smith, Jason M., 2014. "Autocorrelation in daily short-sale volume," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 31-41.
    9. Blau, Benjamin M. & Van Ness, Bonnie F. & Van Ness, Robert A., 2009. "Information and trade sizes: The case of short sales," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 1371-1388, November.
    10. Du, Brian & Fung, Scott, 2018. "Directional information effects of options trading: Evidence from the banking industry," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 149-168.
    11. Blau, Benjamin M. & Van Ness, Robert A. & Warr, Richard S., 2012. "Short selling of ADRs and foreign market short-sale constraints," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 886-897.
    12. Blau, Benjamin M. & Pinegar, J. Michael, 2013. "Are short sellers incrementally informed prior to earnings announcements?," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 142-155.
    13. Atilgan, Yigit, 2014. "Volatility spreads and earnings announcement returns," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 205-215.
    14. Charles M. Jones & Adam V. Reed & William Waller, 2016. "Revealing Shorts An Examination of Large Short Position Disclosures," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(12), pages 3278-3320.
    15. Blau, Benjamin M. & Tew, Philip L., 2014. "Short sales and class-action lawsuits," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 79-100.
    16. Benjamin Blau & Kathleen Fuller & Chip Wade, 2015. "Short Selling and Price Pressure Around Merger Announcements," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 48(2), pages 143-160, October.
    17. Blau, Benjamin M. & DeLisle, Jared R. & Price, S. McKay, 2015. "Do sophisticated investors interpret earnings conference call tone differently than investors at large? Evidence from short sales," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 203-219.
    18. Alldredge, Dallin M. & Blau, Benjamin M. & Brough, Tyler J., 2012. "Short selling after hours," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 64(6), pages 439-451.
    19. Hao, Xiaoting & Lee, Eunju & Piqueira, Natalia, 2013. "Short sales and put options: Where is the bad news first traded?," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 308-330.
    20. Callen, Jeffrey L. & Fang, Xiaohua, 2015. "Short interest and stock price crash risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 181-194.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Short selling; Put options; Informed trading; Bearish trading activity; Options; G12; G13; G14; G19;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G13 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Contingent Pricing; Futures Pricing
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G19 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Other

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:rqfnac:v:41:y:2013:i:3:p:567-583. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.