GameStop: Short Interest and Floats
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| Author       | Source       | 
| :-------------: |:-------------:|
|  [u/diamondhandsbaby0](https://www.reddit.com/user/diamondhandsbaby0/) | [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Wallstreetbetsnew/comments/lhdylm/gamestop_short_interest_and_floats/) | 

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[Discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/Wallstreetbetsnew/search?q=flair_name%3A%22Discussion%22&restrict_sr=1)

I am not a financial adviser, this is not financial advice.

Discussion

Why is MorningStar stating the float to be only ~27 million shares?

Edit: I have theory that ETFs have the Biggest Diamond Hands and went on a Buying Spree. See my new post about that: <https://www.reddit.com/r/Wallstreetbetsnew/comments/lhiwhh/the_etfs_have_the_biggest_diamond_hands_and_went/>

Link to MorningStar data: <https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/xnys/gme/quote>

It is widely reported that the Shares Outstanding for GME is about ~70 million shares.

Therefore, is it the case that only ~39% of the company shares are available for the public to buy and sell? Calculation: ( 27 / 70 ) * 100

If it is indeed the case, this puts an incredible amount of power into the hands of retails investors, in my opinion. This is because as ~61% shares are restricted or "locked up", the short sellers would not be able to buy them back as they are not available to be traded publicly.

The short sellers would need to buy back ~21 million shares and there are only ~27 million shares available on the market. If retail investors hold and don't sell, the short sellers have got big problems. Really big problems. The limited supply will drive up the price, and the very act of buying back the shares on the limited market will continue to push the share price up higher and higher.

Notes

Please keep in the mind the numbers are a bit stale, we're not dealing with perfect information. It is also possible that some numbers have not been reported correctly.

--- The boring but important stuff ---

*Definitions*

Shares Outstanding - The total number of shares in the company. This changes over time, as companies can issue new shares to raise capital, among other things. Yes, this dilutes the values of your shares. The company can also buy back shares, which increases the value of your shares.

Float - The number of shares that are available for the public to trade on the stock exchange. There are certain shares that are restricted for public trade, which is why the Float is smaller than the Shares Outstanding.

Example of restricted shares: a company employee has shares that are "locked up" for 3 years. The employee owns them, but cannot sell them for 3 years, therefore they cannot be publicly traded.

The exact classification of which shares count towards the float, and which don't, depends on who you ask. This is a cause for large discrepancies in short interest numbers.

Short Interest - The number of shares that have been 'short sold' i.e. shares that have borrowed and sold with a promise to return the borrowed shares at a later date

Short Interest % - could be one of two definitions, make sure to clarify

1.  Short Interest % of Shares Outstanding = ( Number of Short Sold Shares / Shares Outstanding ) * 100

2.  Short Interest % of Float = ( Number of Short Sold Shares / Float ) * 100

*Why different numbers are flying around*

Let's put this knowledge into action and use it to explain the difference between MorningStar's short interest numbers and WSJ's short interest numbers:

MorningStar's Short Interest

Short Interest % of Float = ( Shares Short / Float ) * 100

Short Interest % of Float = ( 21.41 Mil / 27.29 Mil ) * 100

Short Interest % of Float = 78.45%

Note the Float is only 27.29 Mil - this is important, we'll come back to that later

[![r/Wallstreetbetsnew - GameStop: Short Interest and Floats](https://preview.redd.it/z7dyzgit2sg61.png?width=479&format=png&auto=webp&s=76cebbecbe12ec4c25ff9ea2aedd5d3ac20d9e7a)](https://preview.redd.it/z7dyzgit2sg61.png?width=479&format=png&auto=webp&s=76cebbecbe12ec4c25ff9ea2aedd5d3ac20d9e7a)

MorningStar's SI numbers: https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/xnys/gme/quote

Wall Street Journal's Short Interest

Short Interest % of Float = ( Shares Short / Float ) * 100

Short Interest % of Float = ( 21.41 Mil / 51.03 Mil ) * 100

Short Interest % of Float = 41.96%

[![r/Wallstreetbetsnew - GameStop: Short Interest and Floats](https://preview.redd.it/1o9ddkz44sg61.png?width=221&format=png&auto=webp&s=cfe840f7d74c91f8765d7efb94caf4550cf2f34a)](https://preview.redd.it/1o9ddkz44sg61.png?width=221&format=png&auto=webp&s=cfe840f7d74c91f8765d7efb94caf4550cf2f34a)

WSJ SI Numbers: https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/GME

[![r/Wallstreetbetsnew - GameStop: Short Interest and Floats](https://preview.redd.it/inlvx72t4sg61.png?width=104&format=png&auto=webp&s=d73e4c70b17ddc7ef8191f8ff2f617462f9d58f3)](https://preview.redd.it/inlvx72t4sg61.png?width=104&format=png&auto=webp&s=d73e4c70b17ddc7ef8191f8ff2f617462f9d58f3)

Explanation

In both reports, the number of shares sold short is 21.41 million. However, MorningStar states the float is 27.29 million, while the Wall Street Journal states the float is 51.03 million.

I am not a financial adviser, this is not financial advice.

Disclosure: I own shares in GameStop. I am long on GME.

Update:

Table of Suspected "Restricted" Shares [in progress - please comment more]

| Owner | Shares | Type | Filing Date | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| RC Ventures | 9,001,000 | Ryan Cohen | 1/10/21 | Gamestop IR |
| Fidelity Intrinsic Opportunities Fd | 6,801,757 | Fund | 10/31/2020 | [Finra](http://finra-markets.morningstar.com/MarketData/EquityOptions/detail.jsp?query=14%3A0P000002CH&sdkVersion=2.58.0) |
| iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF | 3,621,031 | ETF | 1/28/2021 | Finra |
| Fidelity Low-Priced Stock Fund | 2,000,679 | Fund | 10/31/2020 | Finra |
| Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund | 1,468,071 | Index Fund | 12/31/2020 | Finra |
| iShares Russell 2000 ETF | 1,361,091 | ETF | 1/28/2021 | Finra |
| DFA US Small Cap Value Portfolio | 1,121,503 | Fund | 11/30/2020 | Finra |
| Vanguard Extended Market Index Fund | 817,863 | Index Fund | 12/31/2020 | Finra |
| Vanguard Strategic Equity Fund | 703,551 | Fund | 09/30/2020 | Finra |
| Vanguard Small Cap Index | 634,259 | Index Fund | 12/31/2020 | Finra |
| iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF | 595,041 | ETF | 1/28/2021 | Finra |
| DFA US Targeted Value Portfolio | 559,288 | Fund | 12/31/2020 | Finra |
| Vanguard Tax Managed Small Cap Fund | 519,077 | Fund | 12/31/2020 | Finra |
| iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF | 456,921 | ETF | 1/29/2021 | Finra |
| DFA US Small Cap Portfolio | 452,337 | Fund | 12/31/2020 | Finra |
| Schwab Fundamental US Large Company ETF | 432,351 | ETF | 1/29/2021 | Finra |
| Schwab Fundamental US Large Com Idx Fd | 417,240 | Index Fund | 12/31/2020 | Finra |
| Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1000 ETF | 384,841 | ETF | 1/31/2021 | Finra |
| Fidelity® Small Cap Index Fund | 373,056 | Index Fund | 10/31/2020 | Finra |
| Vanguard Small Cap Value Index Fund | 360,565 | Index Fund | 12/31/2020 | Finra |
| EQ/Morgan Stanley Small Cap Growth Port | 350,679 | Fund | 11/30/2020 | Finra |
| FERNANDEZ RAUL J | 29,289 | Director | 1/19/2021 | [Finviz](https://finviz.com/quote.ashx?t=GME) |
| VRABECK KATHY P | 79,537 | Director | 1/15/2021 | Finviz |
| Dunn Lizabeth | 57,258 | Director | 1/15/2021 | Finviz |
| Wolf Kurt James | 91,000 | Director | 1/14/2021 | Finviz |
| Sherman George E Jr | 1,127,762 | CEO | 4/17/2020 | Finviz |
| Bell James A | 242,596 | EVP & Chief Financial Officer | 4/17/2020 | Finviz |
| Koonin Steven R | 25,271 | Director | 4/15/2020 | Finviz |
| Total | ~34 million |  |  |  |

Rough numbers for our calculated Float, so far, based on numbers above:

Float = Shares Outstanding - "Restricted" Shares

Float = 70 million - 34 million

Float = 36 million so far, much lower than the 50 million float reported around town. Only 9 million shares away from MorningStar's number of 27 million

Theory: The ETFs have the biggest Diamond Hands and went on a Buying Spree. See my new post about that: <https://www.reddit.com/r/Wallstreetbetsnew/comments/lhiwhh/the_etfs_have_the_biggest_diamond_hands_and_went/>
