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 Mar. 21.
Indonesia Energy Corp: Oil and gas exploration company Indonesia Energy Corp (AMEX:INDO) tops the short squeeze leaderboard for the second straight week. Short interest in the stock is 80% of the float and has increased 432% over the last month. Fintel shows a cost to borrow of 379%, which is down from last week’s potential record 771%. This continues to be one of the highest shorted stocks and highest cost to borrows on record for a stock.
Enservco Corp: Oil and gas services company Enservco Corp (AMEX:ENSV) is second on the leaderboard for the second straight week. Short interest in the stock is up 414% over the last week. The report shows 32% of the total float currently short. The cost to borrow of 205% is down from last week’s 245%, but remains one of the highest on the short squeeze leaderboard.
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Imperial Petroleum: International shipping transportation company Imperial Petroleum (NASDAQ:IMPP) is in third place on the Fintel short squeeze leaderboard for the second straight week. The report shows 32.9% of the float short, down from last week’s 46.9%. The cost to borrow on shares is 108%, down from last week’s 164.9%
Cyren Ltd: Cybersecurity company Cyren Ltd (NASDAQ:CYRN) is the newcomer on the short squeeze leaderboard for the week, ranking fourth. The stock ranked sixth last week, falling just outside of the top five names. Short interest is 17.6% of the company’s float. The cost to borrow on Cyren shares is 372%, one of the highest for the week.
AST SpaceMobile: Space communications company AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) ranks fifth for the second straight week after ranking 18th two weeks ago on the leaderboard. The report shows 17.7% of the company’s tradeable float short. The cost to borrow for AST SpaceMobile shares is 39.1%, up from last week’s 38.8%.
