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 go much 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 showing how likely a short squeeze is to occur.
Here’s a look at Fintel’s top five short squeeze candidates for the week of Jan. 10.
Insignia Systems: Digital advertising company Insignia Systems Inc (NASDAQ:ISIG) tops the short squeeze leaderboard for the second straight week. Raw short interest in ISIG is 565,000 shares, up 2,508% from the previous report. Fintel reports that 62% of ISIG’s total float is short, slightly up from last week’s report.
Fintel shows a borrow fee of 519%, which is down from last week’s 556%, which was the highest Fintel had seen in recent history. The stock will remain a short squeeze candidate with the high short interest and high borrow cost into the future.
American Virtual Cloud Technologies: IT solutions provider American Virtual Cloud Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:AVCT) ranks second on the short squeeze leaderboard for the second straight week. Around 11.5% of AVCT shares are short. Short interest in AVCT is up over 3,400% from a previous week. The cost to borrow of 152% on AVCT shares is elevated but down from last week’s 191.7%.
Related Link: 5 Short Squeeze Candidates To Watch: Insignia Systems Tops List With High Cost TO Borrow
Reliance Global Group: Insurance and real estate holding company Reliance Global Group (NASDAQ:RELI) rejoins the list and comes in third. The stock was not on last week’s leaderboard but appeared in second place two weeks ago. Fintel shows short interest makes up 10.2% of the float on RELI shares. The cost to borrow RELI shares is 207%, one of the highest figures of the week.
Petros Pharmaceuticals: Men’s health pharmaceutical company Petros Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PTPI) has been an active name on the short squeeze leaderboard. Fintel shows short interest is 22.2% of shares float, down from last week’s reported 24.4%. The cost to borrow on PTPI shares is 130%. This figure is down from last week’s 176% and several weeks over 240%. PTPI has topped the leaderboard in prior weeks and remains elevated as a potential short squeeze.
Ensysce Biosciences: Clinical stage biotech company Ensysce Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:ENSC) is seeking to bring tamper-proof opioids to market. Around 10.9% of the company’s total float is short, in line with last week’s figure, when ENSC was also fifth on the leaderboard. The cost to borrow on ENSC shares drops from 211.8% last week to 175% for this week.
