Short Covering

What is Short Covering?

Short covering is also known as "buying to cover," a technique used by investors in order to close an outstanding short position in the stock market. During this, they will purchase shares, which they initially borrowed and sold short; after buying, they return the shares to the lender. The main purposes of short covering are to realize profits or cut losses from a short sale. In a short sale, an investor borrows shares of a stock he or she thinks will decline in value, immediately sells them at their current market price, and buys them back later at a lower price to return to the lender.

Short covering is significant because it is the method by which the investor returns borrowed shares. It can also impact market dynamics; the heavy covering of shorts could mean higher demand for a stock, thus driving up the price of that stock. That may be the juncture where the "short squeeze" occurs, and higher prices will then force further shorts sellers to cover their positions.

How Does Short Covering Work?

The process of short covering involves a series of steps subsequent to the initial act of selling short. First, an investor borrows some shares from a broker and sells them in the market, anticipating that the price of the stock will fall. When the price falls, they buy back that number of shares at this low price to cover their position. This process is called short covering.

In case of a fall in stock price, the investor gets the difference between the amount for which they sold it originally and the repurchase amount. If the stock price increases instead of going down, then the investor is at risk. To cut down such loss, investors may opt to cover the short position by buying back the shares at an even higher price in order to avoid further financial loss.

This takes place when many investors are covering their shorts, placing upward pressure on the stock price, giving rise to what is called a short squeeze. A short squeeze occurs when a short seller is forced to purchase shares at an increasingly higher price due to margin calls or rising market conditions.

Example of Short Covering

Now, let's consider an example. Assume that Rohan thinks the stock of ABC Ltd., listed on the NSE, is overvalued and will plummet from its current market price of ₹1,000 per share. Rohan borrows 100 shares from his broker and then sells them at ₹1,00,000 (100 shares x ₹1,000). After some time, ABC Ltd.'s stock price falls to ₹700 per share. To close his position, Rohan buys back 100 shares at ₹ 70,000 (100 shares × ₹ 700) and returns to the broker. This yields him a profit of ₹ 30,000 (₹ 1,00,000 - ₹ 70,000).

However, if ABC Ltd. stock had risen instead, say, to ₹1,200 per share-Rohan would incur a loss if he decided to cover his position at that point. Buying back 100 shares would cost him ₹1,20,000 (100 shares x ₹1,200), thereby incurring a loss of ₹20,000 (₹1,00,000 - ₹1,20,000). Here, Rohan saves himself from further losses beyond this point by covering his short position at this point when the prices continue to rise.