ESML Short Interest

iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF (ESML) operates in the Financial Services sector, specifically the Asset Management industry, with a market capitalization near $2.30B, listed on CBOE, carrying a beta of 1.21 to the broader market. The iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF seeks to track the investment results of an optimized index designed to produce investment results comparable to a capitalization weighted index of small-capitalization U. public since 2018-05-15.

Short interest is the total number of shares currently sold short and not yet covered, reported bi-monthly by FINRA. Days to cover (short interest divided by average daily volume) indicates how long it would take short sellers to close positions, with higher values signaling greater squeeze potential.

Settlement Date
2026-04-30
Short Interest
151.6K
Previous Short Interest
74.2K
Change
104.27%
Days to Cover
1.31
Avg Daily Volume
116.1K
Avg Days to Cover (24 reports)
1.28

Showing 24 bi-monthly FINRA short interest reports for iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF.

Learn how short interest is reported and how to read the data →

Frequently asked ESML short interest questions

What is the current ESML short interest?
As of the Apr 30, 2026 settlement, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF (ESML) short interest is 151.6K shares, a +104.27% change from the prior period. FINRA publishes short interest twice monthly on the 15th and last business day of each month under Rule 4560.
What is the ESML days-to-cover ratio?
Days-to-cover is 1.31, calculated as short interest divided by average daily volume. It estimates how many trading days closing all short positions would consume given typical liquidity. Values above 5 days are commonly cited as elevated; values above 10 days are squeeze-relevant.
How does ESML short interest affect options pricing?
High short interest changes options pricing through three mechanics: borrow-rebate effects (synthetic long stock trades below frictionless put-call parity by approximately the borrow rebate when shares are hard-to-borrow), gamma-squeeze setup risk (if dealers are short gamma against retail call buying, dealer hedge flow can amplify upward moves), and elevated event-vol pricing on names with squeeze potential. See the canonical short-interest documentation for the full mechanism.