We provide new evidence on the relation between order flow and prices, an issue that is central to asset pricing and market microstructure. We examine proprietary data on a broad panel of NYSE-listed stocks that reveal daily order imbalances by institutions, individuals, and market makers. We...

Using NYSE short-sale order data, we investigate whether short-sellers' informational advantage is related to firm earnings and analyst-related events. With a novel decomposition method, we find that while these fundamental event days constitute only 12% of sample days, they account for over 24%...

We study the effect of algorithmic trading (AT) on market quality between 2001 and 2011 in 42 equity markets around the world. We use exchange co-location service that increases AT as an exogenous instrument to draw causal inferences of AT on market quality. On average, AT improves liquidity and...

We examine whether short sellers identify firms that have significant changes in default likelihoods and credit rating downgrades. In the month before a rating downgrade, equity short interest is 40% higher than one year prior. Short sellers predict changes in default probabilities that lead to...

We study the cross-section of stock returns with observed short interest and long positions of hedge funds. During the period 1997-2014, 30% of highly shorted stocks also have the highest level of hedge fund holdings. Stocks with both high short interest and high hedge fund holdings do not earn...

Prior literature proposes that firms can use corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities to signal their quality to investors and other stakeholders. We test this prediction by identifying exogenous situations that call for signaling. Using two independent quasi-natural experiments that...

We examine whether, how, and why acquirer shareholder voting matters. We show that acquirers with low institutional ownership, high deal risk, and high agency costs are more likely to bypass shareholder voting. Such acquirers have lower announcement returns and make higher offers than those who...

We assess the importance of well-known market anomalies for shorting strategies and how it changes over the 1988-2014 period. We find that anomalies contribute to both relative short interest (RSI) and RSI's negative information content about future earnings surprises and analyst actions....

Using 2002–2014 insurer transactions, we provide the first empirical evidence on underwriters' allocation practices in the primary market for corporate bonds. Since bonds are often underpriced, allocations generate for investors an estimated $41 billion of first-day profits. These profits...

We evaluate the over-valuation hypothesis and merger arbitrage price pressure hypothesis as potential explanations for the observed negative returns to stock acquirers around merger announcement. Using daily shorting flow data, we show that the majority of the negative announcement returns can...