How to Short Stocks at WellsTrade
Key points:
• You can buy or short stocks and ETFs with WellsTrade.
• WellsTrade provides tools to find overpriced stocks and ETFs.
• The WellsTrade order ticket has a clear Sell Short option.
If you want to short stocks, WellsTrade is an option. Here are the key details about this broker.
Bearish Trades at Wells Fargo
WellsTrade lets you buy or short stocks and ETFs in a self-directed account. Wells Fargo Advisors’ full-service accounts can also short these securities.
In addition to standard ETFs, WellsTrade offers inverse ETFs, which go up when the market falls.
Finding Overpriced Securities at WellsTrade
To find overpriced stocks and ETFs, log in on the Wells website (not the mobile app). Hover over Research and select Screeners. On the screeners page, choose the stock or ETF screener.
Use the menu to set your filters. You can open the advanced screener for more options. The stock screener includes a consensus rating field. When we filtered for Sell or Strong Sell, we got 28 results. Note that not every stock has a consensus rating.
The ETF screener does not filter by consensus rating, but you can scan by these criteria:
- 3-year market return
- Volume vs 90-day %
- P/E ratio
- R-squared
- ETF type (including inverse)
- And a few more
You can click a linked ticker to see its profile. Larger companies have analyst reports from Wells Fargo Securities with price targets you can download as a PDF.
Placing a Short Trade
Once you find the security, place your trade on WellsTrade’s website or mobile app. On the order ticket, choose Sell Short from the Action menu. Then pick your order type (market, limit, etc.) and set the duration (sell-short orders only allow day orders).
To close the position, open the order form, pick Buy to Cover from the Action menu, enter the number of shares, and submit the order.
Short trades require a margin account, which you can open at WellsTrade or through Wells Fargo Advisors.
Charles Schwab as a Replacement
Charles Schwab also lets you short stocks in a margin account. Schwab’s website and mobile app include options for Sell Short and Buy to Cover. Schwab also offers the thinkorswim desktop platform, which advanced traders will like. You can use the standard Sell and Buy actions for shorting and covering. thinkorswim is also available on mobile and web, and includes screeners on both web and desktop.
Schwab’s website also shows shorting resources, like margin rates for each position, the number of shares shorted, and the short interest ratio in days.
Schwab, like WellsTrade, does not charge commissions for shorting U.S.-listed equities online.
Charles Schwab Website
Open Schwab Account
Updated on 4/7/2025.
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