yes, there are shorts outstanding. we were avg 400 millions shares a day for over a week. read the email Co send to individuals...Co already bought up all the shares to complete the merge so whatever shares the longs hold should be the same amount of shares shorts need to cover....plus many believe that co might bought more than the outstanding shares. if this is correct, it is the best possible way to kill/burn the shorts by a way of a buyout. Co gets paid so do longs just like the dividend.