Tag: short squeeze

Top Short Squeeze Stocks

by Fred Fuld III

Remember when GameStop (GME) went up over 700% in five days due to a short squeeze? The movie theater chain, AMC (AMC) increased by over 1,000% in ten days from a short squeeze.

Here is a review about the short squeeze and its terminology. When you short a stock, it means that your goal is to make money from a drop in the price of a stock. Technically, what happens is that you borrow shares of a stock, sell those shares, then buy back those shares at a hopefully lower price so that those shares can be returned. This all happens electronically, so you don’t actually see all the borrowing and returning of shares; it just shows up on your screen as a negative number of shares.

Short selling can be profitable, but sometimes when the stock moves against the short sellers, and begins to rise, the short sellers jump in right away to buy shares to cover their positions, creating what is called a short squeeze. When a short squeeze takes place, it can cause the share prices to increase fast and furiously. Any good news can trigger the short squeeze.

Some traders utilize this situation by looking for stocks to buy that may have a potential short squeeze. Here is what a short squeeze trader should take into consideration:

Short Percentage of Float ~ The float is the number of freely tradable shares and the short percentage is the number of shares held short divided by the float. Amounts over 10% to 20% are considered high and potential short squeeze plays.

Short Ratio / Days to Cover / Short Interest Ratio -This is probably the most important metric when looking for short squeeze trades, no matter what you call it. This is the number of days it would take the short sellers to cover their position based on the average daily volume of shares traded. This is a significant ratio as it shows how “stuck” the short sellers are when they want to buy in their shares without driving up the price too much. Unfortunately for the shortsellers, the longer the number of days to cover, the bigger and longer the squeeze.

Short Percentage Increase ~ This is the percentage increase in in the number of short sellers from the previous month.

Check out the following list, but be aware, that often some stocks are heavily shorted for a reason. All these stocks have significant short metrics.

Stock Symbol % Float Shorted Days to Cover Stock Price
PubMatic Inc. PUBM 45.53% 4.3 36.43
Esperion Therapeutics ESPR 41.16% 14 22.32
Ontrak Inc. OTRK 39.69% 3.3 31.71
Blink Charging Co. BLNK 37.78% 2 30.94

So as an example, Esperion has over 41% of the float shorted, and it will take 14 days for the short sellers to cover their positions, based on the average daily volume.

Obviously, there is no guarantee that these stocks will go up, but if I was short any stock, I wouldn’t want to waste any time covering my position if the stock started to move up sharply, before all the other short sellers clamor in and drive the price way up.

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Top Low Priced Short Squeeze Stocks

by Fred Fuld III

Unless you haven’t paid any attention to financial news at all, you probably already know that GameStop (GME) has gone up over 700% in the last five days. The movie theater chain, AMC (AMC) was available for a little over two bucks ten days ago. Today, it traded for 25.80 this morning in pre-market trading.

You also probably know that these huge gains have been caused by short squeezes.  Back on September 18 last year, I published an article called Top Restaurant Short Squeeze Stocks, and it listed four companies that were heavily shorted. In just the last four months, those stocks have had stellar returns.

The worst performing stock was up 38%. Not a bad return for four months. The best performing was Dave & Busters (PLAY), which was up 138%. Here are those four stocks, with the percent of float shorted at the time, the days to cover at the time, and the return if you had bought the stock back then and sold today.

Stock Symbol % of Float Days to Cover % Gain
Shake Shack SHAK 26% 5.7 85%
Dave & Buster’s PLAY 33% 1.8 136%
Red Robin RRGB 35% 3.4 64%
El Pollo Loco LOCO 19% 11.2 38%

Many of the heavily shorted stocks you have seen on the news during the last couple days are high priced, with a majority of them trading over $100 a share. That’s a lot of risk. So If you are looking for low priced stocks that might be short squeeze plays, I will cover that shortly.

But first, a review about the short squeeze and its terminology. When you short a stock, it means that your goal is to make money from a drop in the price of a stock. Technically, what happens is that you borrow shares of a stock, sell those shares, then buy back those shares at a hopefully lower price so that those shares can be returned. This all happens electronically, so you don’t actually see all the borrowing and returning of shares; it just shows up on your screen as a negative number of shares.

Short selling can be profitable, but sometimes when the stock moves against the short sellers, and begins to rise, the short sellers jump in right away to buy shares to cover their positions, creating what is called a short squeeze. When a short squeeze takes place, it can cause the share prices to increase fast and furiously. Any good news can trigger the short squeeze.

Some traders utilize this situation by looking for stocks to buy that may have a potential short squeeze. Here is what a short squeeze trader should take into consideration:

Short Percentage of Float ~ The float is the number of freely tradable shares and the short percentage is the number of shares held short divided by the float. Amounts over 10% to 20% are considered high and potential short squeeze plays.

Short Ratio / Days to Cover / Short Interest Ratio -This is probably the most important metric when looking for short squeeze trades, no matter what you call it. This is the number of days it would take the short sellers to cover their position based on the average daily volume of shares traded. This is a significant ratio as it shows how “stuck” the short sellers are when they want to buy in their shares without driving up the price too much. Unfortunately for the shortsellers, the longer the number of days to cover, the bigger and longer the squeeze.

Short Percentage Increase ~ This is the percentage increase in in the number of short sellers from the previous month.

Check out the following list, but be aware, that often some stocks are heavily shorted for a reason. All these stocks have significant short metrics.

Stock Symbol % of Float Days to Cover Stock Price
Ayro AYRO 23.28% 0.51 7.24
Clovis Oncology CLVS 42.43% 6.54 7.94
Senseonics SENS 30.95% 1.36 2.51
TherapeuticsMD TXMD 28.89% 14.30 1.59
VBI Vaccines VBIV 25.64% 6.62 3.15

So as an example, VBI Vaccines has over 25% of the float shorted, and it will take over six days for the short sellers to cover their positions, based on the average daily volume.

Obviously, there is no guarantee that these stocks will go up, but if I was short any stock selling for less than $10 a share, I wouldn’t want to waste any time covering my position, before all the other short sellers clamor in and drive the price way up.

Disclosure: Author owns TXMD. No recommendations are express or implied.

 

Top Restaurant Short Squeeze Stocks

by Fred Fuld III

Many restaurant stocks have taken a hit over the last six months, with some dropping by more than 50%. Several of these stocks are heavily shorted, creating short squeeze opportunities.  When stocks rise quickly in price for whatever reason, short sellers scramble to cover their positions by buying shares, and causing the price of the stocks to increase even more.

Traders and investors can make money on the long side from short squeezes. One technique that stock traders utilize is buying short squeeze stocks, in other words, companies have been heavily shorted. Here is a more extensive explanation of  short squeezes.

When you short a stock, it means that your goal is to make money from a drop in the price of a stock. Technically, what happens is that you borrow shares of a stock, sell those shares, then buy back those shares at a hopefully lower price so that those shares can be returned. This all happens electronically, so you don’t actually see all the borrowing and returning of shares; it just shows up on your screen as a negative number of shares.

Short selling can be profitable, but sometimes when the stock moves against the short sellers, and begins to rise, the short sellers jump in right away to buy shares to cover their positions, creating what is called a short squeeze. When a short squeeze takes place, it can cause the share prices to increase fast and furiously. Any good news can trigger the short squeeze.

Some traders utilize this situation by looking for stocks to buy that may have a potential short squeeze. Here is what a short squeeze trader should take into consideration:

Short Percentage of Float ~ The float is the number of freely tradable shares and the short percentage is the number of shares held short divided by the float. Amounts over 10% to 20% are considered high and potential short squeeze plays.

Short Ratio / Days to Cover / Short Interest Ratio -This is probably the most important metric when looking for short squeeze trades, no matter what you call it. This is the number of days it would take the short sellers to cover their position based on the average daily volume of shares traded. This is a significant ratio as it shows how “stuck” the short sellers are when they want to buy in their shares without driving up the price too much. Unfortunately for the shortsellers, the longer the number of days to cover, the bigger and longer the squeeze.

Short Percentage Increase ~ This is the percentage increase in in the number of short sellers from the previous month.

Here is one example from the list below.  Shake Shack(SHAK) is a stock that is heavily shorted. As a matter of fact, 26% of the float is shorted. (The float is the number of shares of the company that are freely tradeable.) Plus, the number of shares shorted has increased by 4% over last month. It also has a days-to-cover ratio of 5.7, which means that it would take almost six days for the short sellers to cover their position, based on the average daily volume.

So what stocks are heavily shorted that may be worth a closer examination? Check out the following list, but be aware, that often some stocks are heavily shorted for a reason. All these stocks have significant short metrics.

Possibly a short squeeze will cause a few of these to fly higher.

Stock Symbol % of Float Days to Cover
Shake Shack SHAK 26% 5.7
Dave & Buster’s PLAY 33% 1.8
Red Robin RRGB 35% 3.4
El Pollo Loco LOCO 19% 11.2

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Top Airline Short Squeeze Stocks

by Fred Fuld III

Many airline stocks have taken a hit over the last month, and even the last couple trading days. Several of these airline stocks are heavily shorted.  When stocks rise quickly in price for whatever reason, short sellers scramble to cover their positions by buying shares, and causing the price of the stocks to increase even more.

Traders and investors can make money on the long side from short squeezes. One technique that stock traders utilize is buying short squeeze stocks, companies have been heavily shorted. Here is a more extensive explanation of  short squeezes.

When you short a stock, it means that your goal is to make money from a drop in the price of a stock. Technically, what happens is that you borrow shares of a stock, sell those shares, then buy back those shares at a hopefully lower price so that those shares can be returned. This all happens electronically, so you don’t actually see all the borrowing and returning of shares; it just shows up on your screen as a negative number of shares.

Short selling can be profitable, but sometimes when the stock moves against the short sellers, and begins to rise, the short sellers jump in right away to buy shares to cover their positions, creating what is called a short squeeze. When a short squeeze takes place, it can cause the share prices to increase fast and furiously. Any good news can trigger the short squeeze.

Some traders utilize this situation by looking for stocks to buy that may have a potential short squeeze. Here is what a short squeeze trader should take into consideration:

Short Percentage of Float ~ The float is the number of freely tradable shares and the short percentage is the number of shares held short divided by the float. Amounts over 10% to 20% are considered high and potential short squeeze plays.

Short Ratio / Days to Cover / Short Interest Ratio -This is probably the most important metric when looking for short squeeze trades, no matter what you call it. This is the number of days it would take the short sellers to cover their position based on the average daily volume of shares traded. This is a significant ratio as it shows how “stuck” the short sellers are when they want to buy in their shares without driving up the price too much. Unfortunately for the shortsellers, the longer the number of days to cover, the bigger and longer the squeeze.

Short Percentage Increase ~ This is the percentage increase in in the number of short sellers from the previous month.

Here is one example from the list below.  American Airlines (AAL) is a stock that is heavily shorted. As a matter fo fact, 30% of the float is shorted. (The float is the number of shares of the company that are freely tradeable.) Plus, the number of shares shorted has increased by 5% over last month.

So what airline stocks are heavily shorted that may be worth a closer examination? Check out the following list, but be aware, that often some stocks are heavily shorted for a reason. All these stocks have significant short metrics.

Possibly a short squeeze will cause a few of these to fly higher.

Stock Symbol % of Float Days to Cover
American Airlines AAL 30% 1.5
Allegiant ALGT 15% 5.8
Spirit Airlines SAVE 23% 0.8
United Airlines UAL 11% 0.5

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Top Tech Short Squeeze Stocks

by Fred Fuld III

Many technology stocks are making all time highs, whereas others are sinking. Several of these tech stocks are heavily shorted.  When stocks rise quickly in price for whatever reason, short sellers scramble to cover their positions by buying shares, and causing the price of the stock to increase even more.

Traders and investors can make money on the long side from short squeezes. One technique that stock traders utilize is buying short squeeze stocks, companies have been heavily shorted. Here is a more extensive explanation of  short squeezes.

When you short a stock, it means that your goal is to make money from a drop in the price of a stock. Technically, what happens is that you borrow shares of a stock, sell those shares, then buy back those shares at a hopefully lower price so that those shares can be returned. This all happens electronically, so you don’t actually see all the borrowing and returning of shares; it just shows up on your screen as a negative number of shares.

Short sellers can be profitable, but sometimes when the stock moves against them, and begins to rise, the short sellers jump in right away to buy shares to cover their positions, creating what is called a short squeeze. When a short squeeze takes place, it can cause the share prices to increase fast and furiously. Any good news can trigger the short squeeze.

Some traders utilize this situation by looking for stocks to buy that may have a potential short squeeze. Here is what a short squeeze trader should take into consideration:

Short Percentage of Float ~ The float is the number of freely tradable shares and the short percentage is the number of shares held short divided by the float. Amounts over 10% to 20% are considered high and potential short squeeze plays.

Short Ratio / Days to Cover / Short Interest Ratio -This is probably the most important metric when looking for short squeeze trades, no matter what you call it. This is the number of days it would take the short sellers to cover their position based on the average daily volume of shares traded. This is a significant ratio as it shows how “stuck” the short sellers are when they want to buy in their shares without driving up the price too much. Unfortunately for the shortsellers, the longer the number of days to cover, the bigger and longer the squeeze.

Short Percentage Increase ~ This is the percentage increase in in the number of short sellers from the previous month.

Here is one example from the list below.  Ebix Inc. (EBIX) is a stock that is heavily shorted. As a matter fo fact, 32% of the float is shorted. Plus, the short interest ratio is 11.7. That means it would take the short sellers over eleven days to cover their positions, based on the number of shares that trade each day on average.

So what technology stocks are heavily shorted that may be worth a closer examination? Check out the following list, but be aware, that often some stocks are heavily shorted for a reason.

All these stocks have significant short metrics, but they also have price to earnings ratios less than 15 and price to earnings growth ratios of less than 2..

Possibly a short squeeze will cause a few of these to rise sharply, turning lemons into lemonade.

Stock Symbol % of Float Days to Cover
3D Systems DDD 31% 14
Ebix EBIX 32% 11.7
Inseego INSG 34% 5.1
iRobot IRBT 32% 8.1

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Top Biotechnology Short Squeeze Stocks

by Fred Fuld III

Many stocks in the biotechnology sector have dropped significantly in the last couple months, which might offer some buying opportunities. If any of these stocks are heavily shorted, then the potential gains can be substantial. When a shorted stock starts rising fast for any reason, short sellers scramble to cover their positions by buying the stock, and thereby driving up the price of the stock even more.

So how can you make money on the long side from short squeezes? One technique that stock traders utilize is buying short squeeze stocks, companies have been heavily shorted. Here is a more extensive explanation of what a short squeeze is.

When you short a stock, it means that your goal is to make money from a drop in the price of a stock. Technically, what happens is that you borrow shares of a stock, sell those shares, then buy back those shares at a hopefully lower price so that those shares can be returned. This all happens electronically, so you don’t actually see all the borrowing and returning of shares; it just shows up on your screen as a negative number of shares.

Short selling can be profitable, but sometimes when a stock moves against a short seller, and begins to rise, the short sellers jump in right away to buy shares to cover their positions, creating what is called a short squeeze. When a short squeeze takes place, it can cause the share prices to increase in price very quickly. Any good news can trigger the short squeeze.

Some traders take advantage this situation by looking for stocks to buy that may have a potential short squeeze. Here is what a short squeeze trader should look at:

Short Percentage of Float ~ The float is the number of freely tradable shares and the short percentage is the number of shares held short divided by the float. Amounts over 10% to 20% are considered high and potential short squeeze plays.

Short Ratio / Days to Cover / Short Interest Ratio -This is probably the most important metric when looking for short squeeze trades, no matter what you call it. This is the number of days it would take the short sellers to cover their position based on the average daily volume of shares traded. This is a significant ratio as it shows how “stuck” the short sellers are when they want to buy in their shares without driving up the price too much. Unfortunately for the shortsellers, the longer the number of days to cover, the bigger and longer the squeeze.

Short Percentage Increase ~ This is the percentage increase in in the number of short sellers from the previous month.

Here is one example.  Corcept Therapeutics (CORT) is a stock that is very heavily shorted. As a matter fo fact, 21.4% of the float is shorted. Plus, the short interest ratio is 22.9. That means it would take the short sellers almost 23 days to cover their positions, based on the number of shares that trade each day on average. Any good news good send the price of the stock soaring. Then again, any bad new could make the short sellers profitable. The stock trades at 18.1 times trailing earnings and 13.7 times forward earnings, and has a market cap of over $1.4 billion.

So what other biotechnology stocks are heavily shorted that may be worth a closer examination? Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND) has an incredible 45.6% of the float shorted. Plus 25.4 days to cover for the short interest ratio. The stock has a trailing price to earnings ratio of 3.2 and a forward P/E ratio of 23.2. The market cap is $1.6 billion.

One other heavily showed biotech is Ziopharm Oncology (ZIOP), with a market cap of $835 million. The short interest ratio is an extremely high 34.8, which means it could take short sellers over 34 days to cover their position. It has a trailing P/E of 8.07.

Maybe a short squeeze stock can cure your trading portfolio. But remember the risk, often stocks are heavily shorted for a reason.

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Top REIT Short Squeeze Stocks

by Fred Fuld III

There has been a significant amount of concern among investors regarding real estate investment trusts, more commonly referred to as REITs, especially the ones involved in the commercial and retail sectors. The concern comes from the explosion of online purchasing by consumers. Why go to a storefront when you can buy items from the comfort of your own home? However, this concern may be overblown, which could provide some trading opportunities.

If REITs are heavily shorted, the potential gains can be significant. When stocks rise quickly, no matter what the reason, short sellers scramble to cover their positions by buying shares, and causing the price of the stock to move up even more.

So how can you make money on the long side from short squeezes? One technique that stock traders utilize is buying short squeeze stocks, companies have been heavily shorted, hoping that good news will come out. Here is a more extensive explanation of what a short squeeze is.

When you short a stock, it means that your goal is to make money from a drop in the price of a stock. Technically, what happens is that you borrow shares of a stock, sell those shares, then buy back those shares at a hopefully lower price so that those shares can be returned. This all happens electronically, so you don’t actually see all the borrowing and returning of shares; it just shows up on your screen as a negative number of shares.

Short sellers can be profitable, but sometimes when the stock moves against them, and begins to rise, the short sellers jump in right away to buy shares to cover their positions, creating what is called a short squeeze. When a short squeeze takes place, it can cause the share prices to increase fast and furiously. Any good news can trigger the short squeeze.

Some traders take advantage of this situation by looking for stocks to buy that may have a potential short squeeze. Here is what a short squeeze trader should take into consideration:

Short Percentage of Float ~ The float is the number of freely tradable shares and the short percentage is the number of shares held short divided by the float. Amounts over 10% to 20% are considered high and potential short squeeze plays.

Short Ratio / Days to Cover / Short Interest Ratio -This is probably the most important metric when looking for short squeeze trades, no matter what you call it. This is the number of days it would take the short sellers to cover their position based on the average daily volume of shares traded. This is a significant ratio as it shows how “stuck” the short sellers are when they want to buy in their shares without driving up the price too much. Unfortunately for the shortsellers, the longer the number of days to cover, the bigger and longer the squeeze.

Short Percentage Increase ~ This is the percentage increase in in the number of short sellers from the previous month.

Here is one example from the list below. Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (SKT) is a stock that is heavily shorted. As a matter fo fact, 49% of the float is shorted. Plus, the short interest ratio is 18. That means it would take the short sellers eighteen days to cover their positions, based on the number of shares that trade each day on average.

So what REITs are heavily shorted that may be worth a closer examination? Check out the following list, but be aware, that often some stocks are heavily shorted for a reason.

All these stocks have significant short metrics, however they all pay dividends.

Stock Symbol % of Float Days to Cover
CBL & Associates CBL 26.50% 16.5
Innovative Industrial Properties IIPR 28.20% 5.8
Pennsylvania REIT PEI 65.20% 21.1
Tanger Factory Outlet Centers SKT 48.90% 18
Seritage Growth Properties SRG 33.40% 53.7

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Top Technology Short Squeeze Stocks

If technology stocks are heavily shorted, the potential gains can be significant. When stocks rise quickly, no matter what the reason, short sellers scramble to cover their positions by buying shares, and causing the price of the stock to move up even more.

So how can you make money on the long side from short squeezes? One technique that stock traders utilize is buying short squeeze stocks, companies have been heavily shorted. Here is a more extensive explanation of what a short squeeze is.

When you short a stock, it means that your goal is to make money from a drop in the price of a stock. Technically, what happens is that you borrow shares of a stock, sell those shares, then buy back those shares at a hopefully lower price so that those shares can be returned. This all happens electronically, so you don’t actually see all the borrowing and returning of shares; it just shows up on your screen as a negative number of shares.

Short sellers can be profitable, but sometimes when the stock moves against them, and begins to rise, the short sellers jump in right away to buy shares to cover their positions, creating what is called a short squeeze. When a short squeeze takes place, it can cause the share prices to increase fast and furiously. Any good news can trigger the short squeeze.

Some traders utilize this situation by looking for stocks to buy that may have a potential short squeeze. Here is what a short squeeze trader should take into consideration:

Short Percentage of Float ~ The float is the number of freely tradable shares and the short percentage is the number of shares held short divided by the float. Amounts over 10% to 20% are considered high and potential short squeeze plays.

Short Ratio / Days to Cover / Short Interest Ratio -This is probably the most important metric when looking for short squeeze trades, no matter what you call it. This is the number of days it would take the short sellers to cover their position based on the average daily volume of shares traded. This is a significant ratio as it shows how “stuck” the short sellers are when they want to buy in their shares without driving up the price too much. Unfortunately for the shortsellers, the longer the number of days to cover, the bigger and longer the squeeze.

Short Percentage Increase ~ This is the percentage increase in in the number of short sellers from the previous month.

Here is one example from the list below.  Ebix Inc. (EBIX) is a stock that is heavily shorted. As a matter fo fact, 32.6% of the float is shorted. Plus, the short interest ratio is 19.5. That means it would take the short sellers over nineteen days to cover their positions, based on the number of shares that trade each day on average.

So what technology stocks are heavily shorted that may be worth a closer examination? Check out the following list, but be aware, that often some stocks are heavily shorted for a reason.

All these stocks have significant short metrics, but they also have price to earnings ratios less than 15 and price to earnings growth ratios of less than 2..

Maybe a short squeeze will cause a few of these to rise sharply, with lemons becoming lemonade.

Stock Symbol % of float Days to Cover
Ebix EBIX 32.64% 19.5
GreenSky GSKY 60.88% 18
Turtle Beach HEAR 37.55% 8.3
JinkoSolar JKS 21.04% 9.3
Stamps.com STMP 27.13% 7.4

Disclosure: Author owns STMP.

Top Biotech Short Squeeze Plays

by Fred Fuld III

Many stocks in the biotechnology sector have been hit hard recently, possibly creating some buying opportunities. If any of these stocks are heavily shorted, then the potential gains can be substantial. When the stock rises fast for any reason, short sellers scramble to cover their positions by buying the stock, and thereby driving up the price of the stock even more.

So how can you make money on the long side from short squeezes? One technique that stock traders utilize is buying short squeeze stocks, companies have been heavily shorted. Here is a more extensive explanation of what a short squeeze is.

When you short a stock, it means that your goal is to make money from a drop in the price of a stock. Technically, what happens is that you borrow shares of a stock, sell those shares, then buy back those shares at a hopefully lower price so that those shares can be returned. This all happens electronically, so you don’t actually see all the borrowing and returning of shares; it just shows up on your screen as a negative number of shares.

Short sellers can be profitable, but sometimes when the stock moves against them, and begins to rise, the short sellers jump in right away to buy shares to cover their positions, creating what is called a short squeeze. When a short squeeze takes place, it can cause the share prices to increase fast and furiously. Any good news can trigger the short squeeze.

Some traders utilize this situation by looking for stocks to buy that may have a potential short squeeze. Here is what a short squeeze trader should take into consideration:

Short Percentage of Float ~ The float is the number of freely tradable shares and the short percentage is the number of shares held short divided by the float. Amounts over 10% to 20% are considered high and potential short squeeze plays.

Short Ratio / Days to Cover / Short Interest Ratio -This is probably the most important metric when looking for short squeeze trades, no matter what you call it. This is the number of days it would take the short sellers to cover their position based on the average daily volume of shares traded. This is a significant ratio as it shows how “stuck” the short sellers are when they want to buy in their shares without driving up the price too much. Unfortunately for the shortsellers, the longer the number of days to cover, the bigger and longer the squeeze.

Short Percentage Increase ~ This is the percentage increase in in the number of short sellers from the previous month.

Here is one example from the list below.  GTX Inc. (GTXI) is a stock that is heavily shorted. As a matter fo fact, 23% of the float is shorted. Plus, the short interest ratio is 4.1. That means it would take the short sellers over four days to cover their positions, based on the number of shares that trade each day on average.

So what technology stocks are heavily shorted that may be worth a closer examination? Check out the following list, but be aware, that often some stocks are heavily shorted for a reason. All these stocks have significant short metrics, plus they are down by over 50% year-to-date.

Maybe a short squeeze will cause a few of these to rise sharply, and the lemons become lemonade.

Company Symbol Short % change from previous period % of Float Days to cover
 GTX Inc. GTXI 7% 23.66% 4.1
La Jolla Pharmaceutical LJPC 2% 89.29% 26.0
  Paratek Pharmaceuticals PRTK -3% 33.9% 10.9
 Portola Pharmaceuticals PTLA 9% 30.71% 80.07

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written. 

Top Tech Short Squeeze Plays

by Fred Fuld III

Many stocks in the technology sector have been hit hard recently, possibly creating some buying opportunities. If any of these stocks are heavily shorted, then the potential gains can be substantial. When the stock rises fast for any reason, short sellers scramble to cover their positions by buying the stock, and thereby driving up the price of the stock even more.

So how can you make money on the long side from short squeezes? One technique that stock traders utilize is buying short squeeze stocks, companies have been heavily shorted. Here is a more extensive explanation of what a short squeeze is.

When you short a stock, it means that your goal is to make money from a drop in the price of a stock. Technically, what happens is that you borrow shares of a stock, sell those shares, then buy back those shares at a hopefully lower price so that those shares can be returned. This all happens electronically, so you don’t actually see all the borrowing and returning of shares; it just shows up on your screen as a negative number of shares.

Short sellers can be profitable, but sometimes when the stock moves against them, and begins to rise, the short sellers jump in right away to buy shares to cover their positions, creating what is called a short squeeze. When a short squeeze takes place, it can cause the share prices to increase fast and furiously. Any good news can trigger the short squeeze.

Some traders utilize this situation by looking for stocks to buy that may have a potential short squeeze. Here is what a short squeeze trader should take into consideration:

Short Percentage of Float ~ The float is the number of freely tradable shares and the short percentage is the number of shares held short divided by the float. Amounts over 10% to 20% are considered high and potential short squeeze plays.

Short Ratio / Days to Cover / Short Interest Ratio -This is probably the most important metric when looking for short squeeze trades, no matter what you call it. This is the number of days it would take the short sellers to cover their position based on the average daily volume of shares traded. This is a significant ratio as it shows how “stuck” the short sellers are when they want to buy in their shares without driving up the price too much. Unfortunately for the shortsellers, the longer the number of days to cover, the bigger and longer the squeeze.

Short Percentage Increase ~ This is the percentage increase in in the number of short sellers from the previous month.

Here is one example from the list below.  Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) is a stock that is heavily shorted. As a matter fo fact, 43% of the float is shorted. Plus, the short interest ratio is 8.4. That means it would take the short sellers over eight days to cover their positions, based on the number of shares that trade each day on average.

So what technology stocks are heavily shorted that may be worth a closer examination? Check out the following list, but be aware, that often some stocks are heavily shorted for a reason. All these stocks have significant short metrics.

Maybe a short squeeze will cause a few of these to rise sharply, and the lemons become lemonade.

Company Symbol Short % change from previous period % of Float Days to cover
 Applied Optoelectronics AAOI -10% 43.16% 8.4
 Enphase Energy ENPH 2% 21.1% 40.71
 Gogo GOGO -10% 17.9% 80.38
Turtle Beach HEAR -10% 4.7% 80.07
Ichor Holdings ICHR -4% 13.2% 35.52
Match Group MTCH -2% 11.1% 46.76