Member/Public Short Sales Ratio (NYSE Members Report)

The NYSE Members Report is compiled by the SEC and issued about two weeks after the applicable date.

The Member / Public Short Ratio is a market sentiment indicator. It is calculated by dividing the volume of the weekly short sales made by the public (the "crowd)) by those made by stock exchange members (all the well-known Wall Street broker firms). This indicator is a useful tool to determine what the experts are doing. If specialists, floor traders and other members of the New York Stock Exchange are shorting heavily the market is usually ripe for a correction. On the other hand, if they are doing relatively little shorting it is most likely that the market has hit bottom, especially if public- and odd-lot short sales increase at the same time.