Heavy volume accompanied by large price spikes generates interest as the stock hits price tickers and radar screens. This invites more participants to the table as they pile into the shares both long and short. Short interest is considered “high” when it rises above the 20% mark. The higher it rises, the more susceptible it becomes for a squeeze. For example, a stock with a 57% short interest is more likely to squeeze than a stock with a 22% short interest.

AMC YTD daily chart — courtesy of StocksToTrade.comThe AMC surge proved that retail traders aren’t going anywhere. And who gets to profit from those exiting their short positions?

Where can I find information on stocks with high short interest?

Short squeezes have many pros and cons that you need to be aware of before you make any investment decisions. While a stock has the potential to make unlimited gains, on the flipside a stock could simply become worthless. Voting SharesVoting Shares are the shares that authorize the shareholder to vote on Company issues like modifying its corporate policies or selecting Board of Directors etc. Creates a huge imbalance in the market liquidity, which also adds to the factors influencing short squeezing.

When this occurs, trading in the stock is paused for five minutes, making it impossible to buy or sell the stock for that time. Stock was halted twice due to https://www.bigshotrading.info/ a considerable increase in trading volume. However, short-sellers complained to the New York Stock Exchange, which was operated by Wall Street insiders.

Northern Pacific Railway Short Squeeze

To view moving average charts, check out one of the many charting software programs available. These will allow you to plot this on your chosen stock’s chart.

ECNs, or electronic communication networks, are computerized networks in which traders can trade directly with one another. ECNs have several advantages, including tighter spreads and more options for after-hours trading. Being caught on the wrong side of a short squeeze is one of the worst experiences a trader can go through. It’s akin to being viciously dragged into the ocean by a riptide while strolling on the beach. In Volkswagen’s case, a number of factors contributed to the squeeze. There was ample speculation that Porsche would buy the rest of Volkswagen.

How Can I Tell If a Stock Is Being Shorted?

For example, investors generally believe a short squeeze is nearby when the amount of shares shorted are greater than five times the average daily trading volume. Investors can predict a short squeeze by following daily moving average charts and calculating short interest ratios and percentages to determine the amount of available short shares. There are different triggers in the market that can signal to investors that a short squeeze is about to happen. Short sellers often will have substantial losses if the stocks move in the opposite direction and the prices increase. The short squeeze comes into effect when short sellers continue to push up the prices of a stock, forcing short sellers to end up buying the shares before too much loss is felt. A short squeeze occurs when the price of a stock spikes upward, due to an excess of short selling the underlying security.

Predicting a short squeeze involves interpreting daily moving average charts and calculating the short interest percentage and the short interest ratio. The increase in trading volume that GameStop’s stock has seen in the last few days is probably due to a short squeeze. Naked short selling is a practice where investors short a stock that they have not officially borrowed or does not exist. In 2021, retail investors started to buy up shares of several companies with high short interest in an attempt to squeeze out hedge funds that were shorting them. GameStop became the poster child of this effort by retail investors, having been one of the first to be targeted. Let’s say Company A is targeted by a short-seller who issues a report publicizing his short thesis.

Short Squeeze Strategy: How to Trade a Short Squeeze

Some stocks can start off with the Short Squeeze that continues to hold elevated price levels long enough for real buyers to come in off the fence. Stocks that hold their short squeeze peaks make headlines which draws in more interest from potential investors. The kindling needed to start a short squeeze is a stock for which many investors hold short positions.

• In July 2020, a retail trader from Massachusetts named Keith Gill invested $50,000 into GME shares and call options.
• In their frenzy to get out, investors who shorted Driverless push up its shares to $70, then $80, then $90, and beyond.
• Contrarian investors who have built up long positions in the stock in anticipation of a short squeeze will benefit as the stock price climbs.
• Always play out worst case scenarios and implement stop-losses ahead of time.
• This sudden high demand could cause the stock’s price to rise even more sharply to $130 or $140 per share.
• If the security’s price begins to rise, they will start buying it.