Potential short squeeze plays have gained steam in 2021 with new retail traders looking for the next huge move. GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings are two high-profile examples of short-squeezes earlier this year.
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 on buying in to cover their position, which has caused 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 happen.This week’s leaderboard contains five new names from the previous week. Here is a look at Fintel’s top five short squeeze candidates for the week of Dec. 13.
Petros Pharmaceuticals
Men’s health pharmaceutical company Petros Pharmaceuticals tops the Fintel leaderboard for the week. The stock has 25.4 percent of its float short with short interest up 459 percent in recent weeks, according to Fintel. Short interest is up 2,470 percent in the last month on shares of PTPI. Fintel shows a cost to borrow of 254 percent, which is one of the highest on record.iSpecimen
Life sciences company iSpecimen comes in second place on the Fintel leaderboard for the week. The company has 19.7 percent of its public float shorted. Short interest is up over 4,400 percent in ISPC shares from the prior report. Fintel points out that institutional ownership is down in ISPC shares in the recent quarter. Insiders have been buying shares consistently over the last few weeks. The cost to borrow on ISPC shares is 175 percent, which Fintel said would normally top the list if not for the high number assigned to PTPI shares.Longeveron
Biotechnology company Longeveron ranks third on this week’s list. Fintel shows 30.5 percent of the company’s public float short. Short interest of 1.2 million shares is up 477percent in the last month, according to the report. LGVN has a high cost to borrow of 152 percent.Vallon Pharmaceuticals
Biopharmaceutical company Vallon Pharmaceuticals Inc has 22.8 percent of its float short. Short interest has risen 855 percent from previous reports, according to Fintel. The cost to borrow on VLON shares is 62.1 percent. Fintel highlighted that institutional shares have declined over 30 percent in the most recent quarter.Greenland Technologies Holdings Corp
Material handling industry company Greenland Technologies Holding Corp joins the short squeeze leaderboard in fifth place. Short interest in GTEC is up over 1,500 percent from the previous report. The cost to borrow on GTEC shares is 41 percent.By Chris Katje
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