The total number of shares sold short without being covered, of a particular stock, is called the short interest of that stock. The short interest is represented as a percentage. Thus, stocks with a high percentage (usually over 20%) of short interest are termed as high short interest stocks.
The short interest of stocks is tracked by the stock exchanges to understand market behavior and sentiments of investors around a specific stock. High short interest indicates overwhelmingly bearish sentiments around a particular company and its stock. Such stocks provide massive opportunities for short-term returns to investors.
Ticker | Company Name | Last Price | 1-Year Return | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVNA | Carvana Co. | $175.40 | 359.04% | 36.3B |
| MSTR | MicroStrategy Incorporated | $167.49 | 438.03% | 33.9B |
| SABR | Sabre Corporation | $3.55 | -9.67% | 1.4B |
| BBBY | Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. | #N/A | #N/A | #N/A |
| IRBT | iRobot Corporation | $8.62 | -77.26% | 260.4M |
| RIOT | Riot Blockchain, Inc. | $7.32 | -16.63% | 2.2B |
| JKS | JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. | $25.73 | -12.66% | 1.5B |
| CPE | Callon Petroleum Company | $0.00 | #N/A | #N/A |
| GBT | Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc. | $13.08 | 4.64% | 424.1M |
| FLGT | Fulgent Genetics, Inc. | $21.18 | -20.11% | 641.7M |
| BGS | B&G Foods, Inc. | $8.81 | -7.07% | 697.4M |
| INO | Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | $5.70 | 25.27% | 148.3M |
| SKT | Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. | $32.70 | 49.18% | 3.6B |
| WKHS | Workhorse Group Inc. | $0.73 | -90.37% | 17.8M |
| BLNK | Blink Charging Co. | $1.68 | -43.43% | 170.0M |
| STAR | iStar Inc. | $0.05 | #N/A | 1.1M |
| OCGN | Ocugen, Inc. | $0.97 | 136.59% | 279.3M |
| PLCE | The Children's Place, Inc. | $14.82 | -39.06% | 188.5M |
| HRTX | Heron Therapeutics, Inc. | $2.09 | 106.93% | 317.0M |
| GPRE | Green Plains Inc. | $12.97 | -55.00% | 838.6M |
| COWN | Cowen Inc. | #N/A | #N/A | #N/A |
| VUZI | Vuzix Corporation | $1.15 | -67.79% | 75.9M |
| OMER | Omeros Corporation | $4.02 | 49.44% | 232.9M |
| ARCH | Arch Resources, Inc. | $133.90 | -13.26% | 2.4B |
| GEO | The GEO Group, Inc. | $12.93 | 57.49% | 1.8B |
Factors to Consider Before Investing in High Short Interest Stocks
The most significant factor to consider before investing in high short interest stocks is that they are very volatile. Due to high short interest, short-covering also increases, leading to a high demand for these shares. They have solid tendencies of moving in the upward direction and can lead to a short squeeze.
At the same time, high short interest stocks can be very risky, too. The short sellers may not be right all the time, and the simple belief that the stock prices will go down just not guarantee that the stock prices will actually plummet.
Therefore, investors must perform an in-depth analysis of the causes behind the short interest before investing in high short interest stocks. The analysis must cover the market news and research that caused the bearish sentiments, float of the company, and the industry to which the company belongs to.
Which High Short Interest Stocks Should I Buy?
Most of the major stock exchanges generate monthly reports on the short interest of stocks. Thus, the top high short interest stocks keep changing month-over-month, indicating the overall market sentiments. We have aggregated the best high short interest stocks for investors to choose from.
Investors must ensure that the short interest of stocks they pick must be more than 10%, and the companies must have a high market capitalization of more than $2 billion. Additionally, high short interest stock prices should be below SMA50 to ensure high returns.
What is Short Interest and Why Does it Matter?
Short interest is the amount of stock borrowed by investors that they don’t own. It consists of short sales in a given stock and it is often used as an indicator for a stock’s volatility going forward.
Short selling involves borrowing shares (i.e., selling what you don’t currently hold in your portfolio) from someone who has them and then selling them at the current price. You then have to buy the shares (to replace those you sold) before returning them to their owner.
Short interest is usually expressed as a percentage of a stock’s total outstanding shares and thus it serves as an indication of the amount of money currently being bet against a stock.
Short interest can be seen as a barometer for investor sentiment. It shows how much investors are betting that a particular stock will drop. A high level of short interest, especially compared to the overall float is generally an indicator of bearishness amongst traders (or pessimism).
High short interest can also allude to a potential short squeeze. A short squeeze occurs when short sellers are forced to buy a stock because the price has risen so much that they can no longer cover their positions.
A short squeeze is normally caused by some event that forces traders to close out their short position, resulting in additional demand for the shares and an upward pressure on share prices.
High short interest on a stock may not necessarily mean that its shares are going to rise, but it is still a metric worth analyzing for both short sellers and bullish investors.
