Short Interest API
The Short Interest API returns official US short interest as reported to FINRA under Rule 4560 — covering more than 22,000 exchange-listed and OTC equity securities, with history back to December 2017.
FINRA publishes how many shares are short, but never what that is a share of. Every record here is enriched with the join FINRA does not do: short_percent_outstanding (exact, from the company's SEC cover page), short_percent_float, dollar_volume_short, and percentile_2y — where the current reading sits in that stock's own two-year range, which is what tells you whether 12% is actually high.
Short interest is bi-weekly, not daily: positions settle on the 15th and the last business day of each month, and FINRA publishes on the seventh business day after. For something that moves every day, see daily short volume and fails-to-deliver.
For related ownership and filing data see the Insider Trading API, Institutional Holdings API and SEC API.
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https://api.api-ninjas.com/v1/shortinterest
Returns the latest bi-weekly short interest for a security, plus history. Free plans get the latest settlement date including the exact short_percent_outstanding; premium plans add percent of float, dollar notional short, the two-year percentile, split-adjusted history and the full archive back to December 2017.
Parameters
tickerrequiredThe stock or ETF ticker symbol (for example
GME).settlement_dateoptionalReturn one specific settlement date, in
YYYY-MM-DDformat. Short interest settles on the 15th and the last business day of each month.limitoptionalNumber of historical settlement dates to return, from 1 to 200. Defaults to 12. Free plans are limited to the latest date.
Response
A JSON object with the following fields, or an error if the request is unsuccessful.
Response fields
tickerThe security's ticker symbol.
nameThe issue name as reported by FINRA.
exchangeListing venue:
NYSE,NNM(Nasdaq National Market),SC(Nasdaq SmallCap),ARCA,BZX,AMEX,IEXorOTC.cikThe company's SEC Central Index Key, when the security maps to an SEC filer.
sectorSector classification. Null for securities with no classification, such as many trusts and warrants.
industryIndustry classification.
settlement_dateThe date the position was measured — the 15th or the last business day of a month.
shares_shortShares sold short and not yet covered, as reported to FINRA.
previous_shares_shortThe prior settlement date's short position.
changeChange in shares short since the prior settlement date.
change_percentPercent change in shares short since the prior settlement date.
average_daily_volumeAverage daily trading volume used by FINRA to compute days to cover.
days_to_coverShares short divided by average daily volume, also called the short ratio. Null when average daily volume is zero and the ratio is undefined — FINRA encodes that case as 999.99, which this API never returns.
shares_outstandingTotal shares outstanding from the company's SEC cover page, resolved to the value in effect at this settlement date.
shares_outstanding_as_ofThe cover-page date of the share count used.
short_percent_outstandingShares short as a percent of shares outstanding. Exact.
float_sharesEstimated public float in shares. Premium.
short_percent_floatShares short as a percent of estimated public float. Estimated, not reported — the SEC discloses float as a dollar amount once a year, so a share count is always derived. Premium.
float_estimatedAlways
true, for the reason above. Premium.float_as_ofThe date the filer measured public float. Premium.
float_price_gap_daysDays between the float measurement date and the price used to convert dollars into shares.
0is an exact-date conversion; larger values are less precise. Filter on this when accuracy matters. Premium.float_is_cappedtruewhen the derived float exceeded shares outstanding and was clamped to it. On these rowsshort_percent_floatis a floor, not a measurement, and equalsshort_percent_outstanding. Premium.close_pricePrice near the settlement date, from SEC fails-to-deliver filings. Fit for scaling a share count into dollars; not a quote. Premium.
price_dateThe date of the price used. Premium.
price_sourceSource of the price. Currently
sec_ftd. Premium.dollar_volume_shortNotional value of the short position in US dollars. Premium.
percentile_2yWhere this reading sits in the stock's own trailing two-year range, 0–100. Answers whether a given percentage is high for this stock. Null until a security has at least six prior observations. Premium.
shares_short_split_adjustedShares short rescaled onto today's share basis so multi-year history stays comparable across splits. Premium.
is_revisiontruewhen FINRA restated this settlement date after initial publication.had_splittruewhen FINRA flagged a stock split affecting this record.historyArray of prior settlement-date records, each with the same fields. Premium.
next_settlement_dateThe next date a position will be measured.
next_publication_dateWhen that reading becomes available — schedule against this instead of polling.
sourceData provenance statement.
Live Demo
Code Examples
curl -X GET "https://api.api-ninjas.com/v1/shortinterest?ticker=GME" \
-H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"If your programming language is not listed in the Code Example above, you can still make API calls by using a HTTP request library written in your programming language and following the above documentation.
Business tier and above
https://api.api-ninjas.com/v1/shortinterestscreener
Ranks the entire US equity universe for a settlement date — this is how you find the most shorted stocks. Sort by percent of float, percent of outstanding, days to cover, two-week change, dollar notional short or the two-year percentile, and narrow by sector, exchange, price or size.
Because short percent of float is derived rather than reported, add exclude_capped_float=true and max_float_price_gap_days=7 to restrict a ranking to floats that were actually measured.
Parameters
sort_byoptionalRanking metric:
short_percent_float(default),short_percent_outstanding,days_to_cover,change_percent,dollar_volume_short,percentile_2yorshares_short.orderoptionaldesc(default) orasc.settlement_dateoptionalSettlement date in
YYYY-MM-DDformat. Defaults to the most recently published date.exchangeoptionalRestrict to one venue:
NYSE,NNM,SC,ARCA,BZX,AMEX,IEXorOTC.sectoroptionalRestrict to one sector, for example
Health Care.min_short_percent_floatoptionalMinimum short percent of float.
min_days_to_coveroptionalMinimum days to cover.
min_priceoptionalMinimum share price — useful for excluding sub-dollar names.
min_shares_outstandingoptionalMinimum shares outstanding, a rough size filter.
exclude_capped_floatoptionalSet
trueto drop rows where the derived float was clamped to shares outstanding.max_float_price_gap_daysoptionalOnly include rows whose float was converted using a price within this many days of the measurement date.
limitoptionalNumber of results, 1 to 100. Defaults to 25.
Response
A JSON object containing the ranked results array, or an error if the request is unsuccessful.
Response fields
settlement_dateThe settlement date ranked.
sort_byThe metric used for ranking.
orderSort direction applied.
countNumber of results returned.
resultsArray of securities in ranked order. Each entry carries
ticker,name,exchange,sector,industry,shares_short,change_percent,days_to_cover,shares_outstanding,short_percent_outstanding,float_shares,short_percent_float,float_estimated,float_is_capped,close_price,dollar_volume_shortandpercentile_2y, with the same meanings as on/v1/shortinterest.
https://api.api-ninjas.com/v1/shortvolume
Daily Reg SHO short sale volume — the portion of a day's off-exchange volume flagged as short sales. Updated every trading day, so it moves between the bi-weekly short interest readings.
This is not short interest, and not a percent of total market volume. FINRA covers only trades reported to its Trade Reporting Facilities, roughly 35–52% of consolidated volume. A ratio near 50% is normal: it mostly reflects wholesalers filling retail buy orders from inventory, which books as a short sale.
Parameters
tickerrequiredThe stock or ETF ticker symbol (for example
GME).limitoptionalNumber of trading days to return, 1 to 250. Defaults to 30. Free plans are limited to the latest day.
Response
A JSON object with the following fields, or an error if the request is unsuccessful.
Response fields
tickerThe security's ticker symbol.
latestThe most recent trading day, containing
date,short_volume,short_exempt_volume,total_volume,short_volume_ratioandmarkets.short_volumeShares sold short that day, across FINRA Trade Reporting Facilities only.
short_exempt_volumeShort sale volume exempt from the Reg SHO price test.
total_volumeTotal off-exchange volume reported to FINRA that day. This is not consolidated market volume — it is roughly 35–52% of it.
short_volume_ratioshort_volumeas a percent oftotal_volume. A share of off-exchange volume, not of total volume.marketsReporting facilities that contributed, e.g.
B,Q,Nfor the Nasdaq Carteret, Nasdaq Chicago and NYSE TRFs, orOfor the OTC Reporting Facility.average_short_volume_ratio_20dMean ratio over the last 20 trading days — a baseline to read today's figure against, since a single day in isolation says little.
historyArray of prior trading days with the same fields. Premium.
https://api.api-ninjas.com/v1/failstodeliver
Shares that did not settle on the contractual settlement date, published semi-monthly by the SEC. Persistent, large fails are the closest public signal to naked shorting.
Note: a security is listed only on dates it actually had a settlement failure, so an absent date means no material fails rather than no data.
Parameters
tickerrequiredThe stock or ETF ticker symbol (for example
GME).limitoptionalNumber of records to return, 1 to 250. Defaults to 30. Free plans are limited to the latest record.
Response
A JSON object with the following fields, or an error if the request is unsuccessful.
Response fields
tickerThe security's ticker symbol.
latestThe most recent record, containing
settlement_date,cusip,name,quantity_failed,priceanddollar_value.quantity_failedShares that did not settle on the contractual settlement date.
priceClosing price associated with the fail record.
dollar_valuequantity_failedmultiplied byprice, so fails are comparable across share prices.trailing_12mAggregate over the last year:
days_with_fails,peak_quantity_failedandaverage_quantity_failed. A single fail is noise; a run of them is the signal. Premium.historyArray of prior fail records with the same fields. Premium.
sourceData provenance statement.
https://api.api-ninjas.com/v1/shortinterestcalendar
Settlement dates, member reporting deadlines and FINRA publication dates. Short interest changes only 24 times a year, so this lets you schedule refreshes instead of polling. Available on every plan, including free.
Parameters
yearoptionalRestrict to one calendar year, 2018 onward.
upcomingoptionalSet
trueto return only future, not-yet-published settlement dates in ascending order.limitoptionalNumber of dates to return, 1 to 120. Defaults to 24 (one year).
Response
A JSON object containing the results array, or an error if the request is unsuccessful.
countNumber of dates returned.
settlement_dateThe date on which short positions are measured.
reporting_due_dateWhen FINRA members must have reported — the second business day after settlement, excluding market holidays.
publication_dateWhen FINRA publishes the compiled figures — the seventh business day after settlement.
is_publishedfalsefor future dates, whosepublication_dateis therefore a projection.securities_reportedNumber of securities in the published file. Null until the date is published.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use the Short Interest API for commercial purposes?
Yes, but you must have a premium subscription. Commercial use of the Short Interest API is not permitted on the free tier. See our pricing page to choose a plan that fits your needs.How do I get an API key and start using the Short Interest API?
Sign up for a free account to instantly get your API key, then pass it in theX-Api-Keyheader on every request. The documentation above includes ready-to-run examples in cURL, Python, JavaScript, Node.js, and more.What happens if I exceed my quota for the month?
Your API requests will simply be denied once you hit your monthly quota — you will never be charged more than the plan you signed up for. To increase your quota, you can upgrade your plan any time on our pricing page.What happens if a request to the Short Interest API fails?
The API responds with a standard HTTP status code and a JSON error message describing the problem. See our error codes reference for the full list of codes and how to resolve each one, or contact support if you need help.What data does the Short Interest API provide?
The Short Interest API returns official US short interest as reported to FINRA under Rule 4560, covering over 22,000 exchange-listed and OTC equity securities with history back to December 2017. Each settlement-date record includesshares_short,previous_shares_short,change_percent,average_daily_volumeanddays_to_cover, enriched with data FINRA does not publish:short_percent_outstandingandshort_percent_float(from SEC filings),dollar_volume_short, andpercentile_2y— where the current reading sits in that stock's own two-year range. Related endpoints cover daily short volume and fails-to-deliver.How often is short interest updated?
Short interest is bi-weekly — 24 times a year, not daily. Positions settle on the 15th and the last business day of each month; FINRA members report by the second business day after settlement, and FINRA publishes on the seventh business day. That means a reading is roughly 11 to 13 calendar days old when it becomes available, and up to three weeks old just before the next one lands. The/v1/shortinterestcalendarendpoint returns every settlement, reporting and publication date so you can schedule refreshes instead of polling, and every response carriesnext_publication_date. For something that moves daily, use/v1/shortvolume.Is there a free short interest API?
Yes. Create a free account for an instant API key. The free tier returns the latest settlement date includingshares_short,days_to_coverand the exactshort_percent_outstanding. Premium plans unlock short percent of float, dollar notional short, the two-year percentile, split-adjusted history, and the full archive back to 2017. The settlement calendar endpoint is free on every plan. One key works across every API Ninjas endpoint.What is the difference between short interest and short volume?
They measure different things and are easy to confuse. Short interest is the outstanding short position — shares sold short and not yet covered — reported twice a month. Short volume is the portion of a single day's executed volume flagged as short sales, published daily. Crucially, FINRA's short volume covers only off-exchange trades reported to its Trade Reporting Facilities, which is roughly 35-52% of consolidated market volume, so the ratio is a share of off-exchange volume and not of total volume. A ratio near 50% is normal: it mostly reflects wholesalers filling retail buy orders from inventory, which books as a short sale. Use/v1/shortinterestfor actual positions.How do I find the most shorted stocks?
Use/v1/shortinterestscreener, which ranks the entire universe for a settlement date. Sort byshort_percent_float,short_percent_outstanding,days_to_cover,change_percent,dollar_volume_shortorpercentile_2y, and filter bysector,exchange,min_priceormin_shares_outstanding. The screener requires a Business plan or higher.How accurate is short percent of float?
Short percent of outstanding is exact — it divides the FINRA short position by the share count on the company's SEC cover page. Short percent of float is an estimate: the SEC discloses public float as a dollar amount once a year, so we convert it to shares using a price near the measurement date. Every row therefore carriesfloat_estimated,float_as_ofandfloat_price_gap_days(0 means an exact-date conversion), plusfloat_is_cappedwhen the derived float had to be clamped to shares outstanding. Roughly 78% of conversions use a price within three days. Coverage is limited by SEC tagging: about 27% of securities have a share count and 22% a float, while core FINRA fields cover 100%.
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