<Para ID="Par1">Prior research argues that pessimistic traders can use options as substitutes for short sales particularly when stocks are expensive to short. Motivated by this contention, we examine the relation between put-call ratios, short-selling activity, and constraints to short selling. Results show...</para>

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate what is denoted as episodes of concentrated short‐selling activity, or consecutive days of abnormal short‐sale activity in a particular stock. The motivation to do so is two fold. First, US regulators and regulators in other countries...