Buy To Cover

  

"Buying to cover" means you actually sold shares of stock before you bought them, hoping that the price they are selling at is higher than what you can buy it for later. A rather risky business, it involves borrowing shares from a broker, and then the investor buying them back at a later date. When you purchase an equal number of shares as those you borrowed, that “covers” the short sale and allows the shares to be returned to the original lender, who is usually the investor's own broker/dealer.

Hopefully you know what you're doing so you can make a profit on the transaction, or you will owe money to the broker. Kids, don't try this at home.

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