BUFT stock
First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII - FT Cboe Vest Buffered Allocation Defensive ETF (BUFT) short interest & short volume · 36K shares short
First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII - FT Cboe Vest Buffered Allocation Defensive ETF official short interest (FINRA, twice monthly) and daily short volume (FINRA Reg SHO), with history, % of float and days to cover.
What changed
BUFT short interest rose 10.1% to 36K shares in the Oct 15, 2026 report (1.6 days to cover). Daily short volume averaged 44.8% of volume over the last 20 sessions, up from 40.3% the 20 sessions before, the 34th percentile of its own 20-day averages since Oct 6, 2025.
Short interest
Official, twice monthly · settled Oct 15, 2026
- Shares short
- 36K
- prior 32K
- % of float
- —
- no float on file
- Days to cover
- 1.6
- avg vol 22K
- Change vs prior report
- +10.1%
| Report date | Shares short | $ value short | Change | % float | Days to cover | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 15, 2026 | 36K | $944K | +10.1% | — | 1.6 | $26.51 |
| Sep 30, 2026 | 32K | $854K | -2.2% | — | 1.6 | $26.38 |
| Sep 15, 2026 | 33K | $871K | +44.9% | — | 2.1 | $26.34 |
| Aug 31, 2026 | 23K | $600K | -53.5% | — | 1.2 | $26.31 |
| Aug 14, 2026 | 49K | $1.3M | +13.3% | — | 2.6 | $26.27 |
| Jul 31, 2026 | 43K | $1.1M | +67.8% | — | 1.0 | $26.07 |
Days to cover is short interest divided by FINRA's average daily volume for the period: how many average days of trading it would take shorts to buy back.
Source: FINRA equity short interest (twice monthly) · Settlement Oct 15, 2026
Daily short volume
Share of each day's volume sold short · FINRA Reg SHO
- Latest (Nov 11)
- 62.4%
- 12K of 19K
- 20-day average
- 44.8%
- prior 40.3%
- Percentile vs own history
- 34th
- 233 periods since 2025
Loading prices…
Source: FINRA Reg SHO daily short sale volume · Latest Nov 11, 2026
Short squeeze score (model)
Model, not a forecast: 40 pts short interest % of float (full at 30%), 25 pts days to cover (full at 10), 15 pts rise in short interest since the prior report (full at +50%), 20 pts price gain since the settlement date (full at +25%). Missing inputs score 0.
BUFT's squeeze score and its inputs with Lician Pro.Start 3-day trial — $149/yr
Market-wide: most shorted stocks, biggest changes and unusual short volume · BUFT overview
| Date | Short | Total | Short % of volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-11 | 11,816 | 18,923 | 62.4% |
| 2026-11-10 | 4,970 | 13,390 | 37.1% |
| 2026-11-09 | 16,049 | 43,374 | 37.0% |
| 2026-11-06 | 9,540 | 22,635 | 42.1% |
| 2026-11-05 | 7,087 | 32,769 | 21.6% |
| 2026-11-04 | 8,015 | 18,448 | 43.5% |
| 2026-11-03 | 5,322 | 20,557 | 25.9% |
| 2026-11-02 | 5,864 | 21,323 | 27.5% |
| 2026-10-30 | 3,915 | 19,495 | 20.1% |
| 2026-10-29 | 32,267 | 40,280 | 80.1% |
BUFT short interest FAQ
What is BUFT's short interest?
First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII - FT Cboe Vest Buffered Allocation Defensive ETF (BUFT) had 36K shares sold short and not yet covered in FINRA's Oct 15, 2026 settlement report.
How many days to cover does BUFT have?
1.6 days: 36K shares short divided by an average daily volume of 22K for the Oct 15, 2026 period.
Is BUFT short interest rising or falling?
BUFT short interest rose (+10.1%) from 32K to 36K shares in the Oct 15, 2026 report.
Is BUFT a short squeeze candidate?
Lician's squeeze watch scores BUFT 7 out of 100 (low) from the Oct 15, 2026 report: days to cover 4.1/25, change in short interest vs prior report 3/15. It is a transparent model of how crowded the short side is, not a forecast that a squeeze will happen.
What share of BUFT daily volume is sold short?
44.8% on average over the last 20 sessions to Nov 11, 2026 (FINRA Reg SHO daily short volume; the 34th percentile of its own 20-day averages). Short volume counts market makers' same-day short sales, so it is not short interest.
What was BUFT's latest FINRA short volume?
On Nov 11, 2026, cached FINRA short volume for First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII - FT Cboe Vest Buffered Allocation Defensive ETF (BUFT) was 11,816 shares, 62.4% of 18,923 total volume.
How many BUFT short-volume sessions are listed on this page?
This page lists 10 cached FINRA short-volume sessions for First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII - FT Cboe Vest Buffered Allocation Defensive ETF (BUFT), from Oct 29, 2026 through Nov 11, 2026.
How did BUFT short volume percent change from the prior cached session?
Cached FINRA short volume for First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII - FT Cboe Vest Buffered Allocation Defensive ETF (BUFT) moved from 37.1% on Nov 10, 2026 to 62.4% on Nov 11, 2026, up 25.3 percentage points.
Not investment advice. Figures as filed or reported, not a live feed.