Investors searching for the next Beyond Meat, Inc. (NYSE:BYND) — the latest poster child for explosive short squeezes — are eyeing the most shorted stocks as potential candidates for outsized rallies.
- BYND stock is moving. See the real-time price action here.
Short selling, where traders bet against a company’s stock, can lead to dramatic price surges if too many shorts scramble to cover their positions — a phenomenon seen with Beyond Meat, which saw short interest soar above 81% of its free float, according to Reuters.
Read Next: Latest Beyond Meat Short-Seller? Martin Shkreli, Of Course
What Makes A Stock Heavily Shorted?
A stock is considered heavily shorted when a significant percentage of its available shares have been borrowed and sold by investors expecting a price drop.
When news, momentum or coordinated buying sends prices higher, a short squeeze can force even more rapid buying.
As short-sellers rush to cover their positions, eye-popping surges — like the meme stock manias seen recently with Opendoor Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPEN) and 2021's GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) rally — can occur.
Top 10 Most Shorted Stocks
Here are the most heavily shorted stocks (with market caps above $2 billion and floats above 5 million) as of Oct. 22, according to data from Finviz.
| Company Name & Ticker | Short Interest (%) [Oct 2025] |
| ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) | 74.67% |
| Rocket Companies, Inc. (NYSE:RKT) | 57.23% |
| TeraWulf, Inc. (NASDAQ:WULF) | 41.40% |
| Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RXRX) | 40.06% |
| Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE:HIMS) | 35.07% |
| Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) | 34.80% |
| Enovix Corp. (NASDAQ:ENVX) | 34.56% |
| Symbotic, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYM) | 33.80% |
| Applied Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:APLD) | 33.35% |
| C3.ai Inc. (NYSE:AI) | 32.22% |
Reminders:
- Highly shorted stocks are battlegrounds where negative fundamentals meet speculative trading.
- Short squeezes can deliver huge, fast gains, but at very high risk and volatility.
- Monitoring the short interest leaderboard can help identify which stocks might be the next short squeeze, but timing such trades remains extremely challenging.
- Always conduct due diligence, as the volatility often reflects deep underlying risks and business uncertainty.
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