Short interest climbs across ProShares ultrashorts

The latest reports show notable shifts in short-interest for several ProShares funds in August. ProShares UltraShort Consumer Discretionary (SCC) saw short interest plunge about 65% to 24,146 shares, with a 2.6-day average “days to cover” and 5.2% of shares short, as the stock traded around its near-term averages. ProShares Ultra SmallCap600 (SAA) experienced a 132% surge in short interest to 10,257 shares, a 2.8-day to-cover, and 1.3% of shares short, amid trading near $36.05. ProShares UltraShort SmallCap 600 (SDD) posted a 130% increase to 4,680 shares short, a 3.4-day cover, and 2.9% of shares sold short, with the stock trading near $8.38. Separately, ProShares Short S&P 500 (SH) saw substantial position changes by investors such as NewEdge Advisors after reducing its SH stake by 99.4% in the 1st quarter, with other firms also adjusting holdings, highlighting a broad reshaping of exposure to the S&P 500 inverse strategy. Several institutions have added or reduced stakes in these funds, reflecting ongoing reassessment of risk and hedging opportunities around large-cap and small-cap indices. The reported moves together underline how traders are actively repositioning around ProShares’ inverse and short-cap strategies, with varying degrees of momentum across the different funds.