Potential short squeeze plays gained steam in 2021, with new retail traders looking for the next huge move.
A short squeeze can occur when a heavily shorted stock rises in value instead of falling. Short sellers could be looking to close out their position and can face a loss if they have to buy back the shares they initially borrowed at a higher price.
A squeeze can occur when short sellers are forced into buying to cover their position, which can cause shares to move up higher on many occasions.
Fintel Data: Data from Fintel, which requires a subscription, provides a look at several of the top shorted stocks and data on how likely a short squeeze is to occur.
Here’s a look at Fintel’s top five short squeeze candidates for the week of April 11.
Aterian: Consumer products company Aterian (NASDAQ:ATER) tops the Fintel short squeeze leaderboard for the week. Fintel shows short interest up 14% in the last month and 31.9% of the company’s float short. A cost to borrow of 61.5% is reported. Shares of Aterian were up 21% Friday and have nearly doubled in the last week.
Newegg: Ecommerce company Newegg Commerce Inc (NASDAQ:NEGG) ranks second on the leaderboard this week, up one position from last week’s Fintel report. The company, which sells computers, computer accessories, gaming products and other technology related items, was frequently on the leaderboard in late 2021. A reported 23.4% of the company’s float to short. The cost to borrow of 110% shows a sharp rise from last week’s reported 30.8%.
Related Link: What's Going On With System1 Stock This Week
Sytem1: Digital marketing company System1, which went public via SPAC merger, joins the Fintel short squeeze leaderboard. The short interest in shares is 19.6% of the company’s total float, with short interest up over 100% in the last month. Fintel reports a cost to borrow of 508%, one of the highest seen on the leaderboard in recent months. System1’s portfolio includes Mapquest, Info.com, Howstuffworks and dozens of other digital properties that get over 100 million monthly visitors.
Guardforce AI: Security solutions company Guardforce AI Co (NASDAQ:GFAI) drops down several positions after topping last week’s report. Fintel shows 22.6% of the total float short, a decrease from last week’s 33.5% reported. The cost to borrow on shares is 165.5%, down from last week’s 171%, but still among the highest on the leaderboard.
Longeveron: Biotechnology company Longeveron (NASDAQ:LGVN) ranks fifth on the leaderboard. Fintel shows 16.2% of the total float short and a cost to borrow of 202%. Short interest was up 80.7% in the most recent monthly report.
