Let's stick to the facts and leave opinions at the door.

This is taken from Stockhouse and was posted by Renaissance. Ignoring the insider selling slant in the post, it sure seems like shorts have had an influence in the past. Over 35 million in short trades this year on HPQ and at times as much as 22% of trades for HPQ we're shorted in a 2 week period.

I ask gungs001 whether he thinks that this is meaningful or am I just ranting as he implies we are doing in his post.

Renaissance wrote:

Ever since I first posted that text about short selling on HPQ, I noticed that there is always someone quick to point out that the problem is not the shorters but the insiders selling. I should have added the following paragraphs before I posted yesterday, but here it is.

I will act as if I did not figured out that those making the insiders selling comments are only using a shorters tactics by willingly spreading confusion. Below is a comparison of the insiders selling volumes versus short selling volumes.

The latest short selling report, dated Oct 31, shows that during the period covered by that report, the short selling volume was at 1 365 816 shares representing more than 22% of the total number of shares traded. During that period, no insiders selling where reported.

The report prior to this one, dated Oct 15, shows that during the period covered by that report, the short selling volume was at 705 974 shares representing more than 16% of the total number of shares traded. During that period, insiders selling amounted for 123 000 shares representing less than 3% of the total number of shares traded.

Now, there is no need do this exercise for each 2 weeks period covered by the short report since I did it as a whole since the beginning of 2021 and it is very telling.

The total short selling volume since the beginning of 2021 amounts for 35 705 664 shares representing more than 13% of the total number of shares traded, while the insiders selling amounted for 2 862 666 shares representing less than 1% of the total number of shares traded.

There is no reasons to be confused, not only insiders are entitled to sell some shares, even more so when they do so to exercise their options, that are part of their remuneration, but the total volume of their transactions was less than 1% of the total traded volume. No, they are not to be blamed for the decrease in share price.