Exclusive: Short Selling Picks Up In Twitter

Since opening at $45.10, shares of Twitter TWTR are down 8.91, closing at $40.90 into the Thanksgiving holiday.

Benzinga received exclusive data on Twitter from Sungard’s Astec Analytics, which measures real time security lending, closely correlating with short selling.

“Twitter continued to see borrowing volumes climb last week,," according to that data, "with the number of TWTR shares being borrowed overall by Friday around three times the number borrowed on the first day of lending activity.”

This information has important implications on the company's trading. While shares dropped more than eight percent last week, much of that change may be attributed to short selling rather than longs giving up their positions.

Related: Exclusive: Astec Analytics' Tim Smith Says Tesla Share Lending Is Up 17 Percent Over Three Days

Astec Analytics does point out that security borrowing is not especially high, and that it may be too early to make assumptions from the data.

“The level is still relatively muted,," it says, "so drawing too much conclusion about short-selling activity is perhaps hasty at this point, particularly as the cost of borrowing having lost its initial levels in the first days of trade has been holding steady ever since.”

And according to a Bloomberg study, short sellers are on the right track. 68 percent of the 750 analysts and traders polled expect share prices to fall over the next six months.