S&P 500   4,604.37
DOW   36,247.87
QQQ   392.17
MarketBeat Week in Review – 12/4 - 12/8
All the trading advice you’ve ever received boils down to this (Ad)
Dozens of animals taken from Virginia roadside zoo as part of investigation
Military-themed brewery wants to open in a big Navy town. An ex-SEAL is getting in the way
[Investor Alert] Potential Breakthrough Medical Tech Investment Opportunity (Ad)
Agriculture gets its day at COP28, but experts see big barriers to cutting emissions
Shohei Ohtani joins big-money club with massive contract with Los Angeles Dodgers
[Investor Alert] Potential Breakthrough Medical Tech Investment Opportunity (Ad)
Consumer product agency issues warning on small magnetic balls linked to deaths
AP PHOTOS: Moscow hosts a fashion forum with designers from Brazil, China, India and South Africa
S&P 500   4,604.37
DOW   36,247.87
QQQ   392.17
MarketBeat Week in Review – 12/4 - 12/8
All the trading advice you’ve ever received boils down to this (Ad)
Dozens of animals taken from Virginia roadside zoo as part of investigation
Military-themed brewery wants to open in a big Navy town. An ex-SEAL is getting in the way
[Investor Alert] Potential Breakthrough Medical Tech Investment Opportunity (Ad)
Agriculture gets its day at COP28, but experts see big barriers to cutting emissions
Shohei Ohtani joins big-money club with massive contract with Los Angeles Dodgers
[Investor Alert] Potential Breakthrough Medical Tech Investment Opportunity (Ad)
Consumer product agency issues warning on small magnetic balls linked to deaths
AP PHOTOS: Moscow hosts a fashion forum with designers from Brazil, China, India and South Africa
S&P 500   4,604.37
DOW   36,247.87
QQQ   392.17
MarketBeat Week in Review – 12/4 - 12/8
All the trading advice you’ve ever received boils down to this (Ad)
Dozens of animals taken from Virginia roadside zoo as part of investigation
Military-themed brewery wants to open in a big Navy town. An ex-SEAL is getting in the way
[Investor Alert] Potential Breakthrough Medical Tech Investment Opportunity (Ad)
Agriculture gets its day at COP28, but experts see big barriers to cutting emissions
Shohei Ohtani joins big-money club with massive contract with Los Angeles Dodgers
[Investor Alert] Potential Breakthrough Medical Tech Investment Opportunity (Ad)
Consumer product agency issues warning on small magnetic balls linked to deaths
AP PHOTOS: Moscow hosts a fashion forum with designers from Brazil, China, India and South Africa
S&P 500   4,604.37
DOW   36,247.87
QQQ   392.17
MarketBeat Week in Review – 12/4 - 12/8
All the trading advice you’ve ever received boils down to this (Ad)
Dozens of animals taken from Virginia roadside zoo as part of investigation
Military-themed brewery wants to open in a big Navy town. An ex-SEAL is getting in the way
[Investor Alert] Potential Breakthrough Medical Tech Investment Opportunity (Ad)
Agriculture gets its day at COP28, but experts see big barriers to cutting emissions
Shohei Ohtani joins big-money club with massive contract with Los Angeles Dodgers
[Investor Alert] Potential Breakthrough Medical Tech Investment Opportunity (Ad)
Consumer product agency issues warning on small magnetic balls linked to deaths
AP PHOTOS: Moscow hosts a fashion forum with designers from Brazil, China, India and South Africa

Highest Short Interest Stocks

Shares that are sold "short" are borrowed then sold with the hopes that the share price will drop before the shares that were borrowed have to be repurchased and returned. A large amount of short interest indicates that some investors believe a stock's price will decline in the near future. "Short" shares can also serve as a hedge for investors that have purchased a large number of shares of a company thinking that the share price will rise over time. This page lists stocks that currently have the highest levels of short interest. Learn more about short interest.

View publication schedule for short interest reports

MarketRank™ evaluates a company based on dividend strength, earnings, valuation, analysts forecasts, and more.
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CompanyShares Sold Short (11/15/2023)Dollar Volume
Sold Short
Shares Sold Short (10/31/2023)Change from Previous ReportDays to Cover% of Float
Shorted
% of Total
Shares Shorted
Indicator(s)
RTX Co. stock logo
RTX
RTX
89,750,000 shs $7.24 billion 111,450,000 shs-21,700,000 shs
-19.5%
8.46.2%5.9%
T-Mobile US, Inc. stock logo
TMUS
T-Mobile US
27,300,000 shs $4.02 billion 25,770,000 shs+1,530,000 shs
+5.9%
5.86.0%2.2%News Coverage
Charter Communications, Inc. stock logo
CHTR
Charter Communications
8,900,000 shs $3.72 billion 8,720,000 shs+180,000 shs
+2.1%
8.48.8%N/AAnalyst Report
Occidental Petroleum Co. stock logo
OXY
Occidental Petroleum
45,670,000 shs $2.80 billion 45,530,000 shs+140,000 shs
+0.3%
5.15.2%4.9%Analyst Report
Lululemon Athletica Inc. stock logo
LULU
Lululemon Athletica
5,740,000 shs $2.48 billion 5,980,000 shs-240,000 shs
-4.0%
2.95.2%4.6%Earnings Report
Analyst Report
Buyback Announcement
Analyst Revision
News Coverage
High Trading Volume
Coinbase Global, Inc. stock logo
COIN
Coinbase Global
24,230,000 shs $2.38 billion 24,380,000 shs-150,000 shs
-0.6%
2.814.5%N/AAnalyst Report
Insider Selling
Tractor Supply stock logo
TSCO
Tractor Supply
11,330,000 shs $2.35 billion 11,720,000 shs-390,000 shs
-3.3%
9.410.5%9.8%Gap Down
Rivian Automotive, Inc. stock logo
RIVN
Rivian Automotive
103,620,000 shs $1.79 billion 105,190,000 shs-1,570,000 shs
-1.5%
2.815.6%N/AAnalyst Report
Options Volume
News Coverage
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. stock logo
RCL
Royal Caribbean Cruises
16,930,000 shs $1.73 billion 17,170,000 shs-240,000 shs
-1.4%
5.57.2%6.7%Analyst Upgrade
News Coverage
Moderna, Inc. stock logo
MRNA
Moderna
22,380,000 shs $1.71 billion 19,610,000 shs+2,770,000 shs
+14.1%
5.66.8%5.6%
United Rentals, Inc. stock logo
URI
United Rentals
3,470,000 shs $1.66 billion 2,990,000 shs+480,000 shs
+16.1%
55.2%4.8%Analyst Downgrade
Analyst Revision
News Coverage
Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc. stock logo
FND
Floor & Decor
17,820,000 shs $1.60 billion 18,030,000 shs-210,000 shs
-1.2%
8.717.0%17.0%Positive News
DoorDash, Inc. stock logo
DASH
DoorDash
16,090,000 shs $1.53 billion 18,190,000 shs-2,100,000 shs
-11.5%
4.46.0%5.5%Insider Selling
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. stock logo
TROW
T. Rowe Price Group
15,180,000 shs $1.49 billion 14,300,000 shs+880,000 shs
+6.2%
116.9%6.7%Positive News
Pool Co. stock logo
POOL
Pool
4,110,000 shs $1.44 billion 4,200,000 shs-90,000 shs
-2.1%
11.611.0%10.2%Analyst Downgrade
Enphase Energy, Inc. stock logo
ENPH
Enphase Energy
14,670,000 shs $1.36 billion 13,160,000 shs+1,510,000 shs
+11.5%
3.111.2%10.8%Analyst Report
News Coverage
Super Micro Computer, Inc. stock logo
SMCI
Super Micro Computer
4,550,000 shs $1.31 billion 4,350,000 shs+200,000 shs
+4.6%
1.49.8%9.1%Insider Selling
News Coverage
Positive News
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. stock logo
WSM
Williams-Sonoma
8,110,000 shs $1.31 billion 8,200,000 shs-90,000 shs
-1.1%
7.713.5%10.6%Positive News
Expedia Group, Inc. stock logo
EXPE
Expedia Group
9,210,000 shs $1.20 billion 8,780,000 shs+430,000 shs
+4.9%
47.0%6.5%News Coverage
CarMax, Inc. stock logo
KMX
CarMax
17,590,000 shs $1.19 billion 16,550,000 shs+1,040,000 shs
+6.3%
8.511.1%10.8%Analyst Revision
News Coverage
Gap Down
Affirm Holdings, Inc. stock logo
AFRM
Affirm
45,720,000 shs $1.19 billion 44,510,000 shs+1,210,000 shs
+2.7%
2.820.4%N/A
Seagate Technology Holdings plc stock logo
STX
Seagate Technology
15,920,000 shs $1.19 billion 15,200,000 shs+720,000 shs
+4.7%
5.77.7%7.0%Analyst Report
News Coverage
Waters Co. stock logo
WAT
Waters
4,280,000 shs $1.14 billion 3,940,000 shs+340,000 shs
+8.6%
8.27.3%6.9%
Cameco Co. stock logo
CCJ
Cameco
26,190,000 shs $1.13 billion 23,180,000 shs+3,010,000 shs
+13.0%
5.16.1%N/AOptions Volume
News Coverage
Positive News
Akamai Technologies, Inc. stock logo
AKAM
Akamai Technologies
10,070,000 shs $1.13 billion 10,550,000 shs-480,000 shs
-4.6%
6.26.8%6.2%Analyst Downgrade
Paramount Global stock logo
PARA
Paramount Global
85,020,000 shs $1.12 billion 85,180,000 shs-160,000 shs
-0.2%
6.714.8%N/AAnalyst Downgrade
Options Volume
News Coverage
Gap Up
High Trading Volume
Chesapeake Energy Co. stock logo
CHK
Chesapeake Energy
13,450,000 shs $1.12 billion 14,220,000 shs-770,000 shs
-5.4%
912.3%N/AAnalyst Downgrade
Options Volume
News Coverage
Positive News
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. stock logo
WBA
Walgreens Boots Alliance
51,890,000 shs $1.12 billion 45,730,000 shs+6,160,000 shs
+13.5%
4.17.3%6.0%Options Volume
Zscaler, Inc. stock logo
ZS
Zscaler
5,940,000 shs $1.10 billion 5,580,000 shs+360,000 shs
+6.5%
3.36.8%4.4%Insider Selling
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. stock logo
LYV
Live Nation Entertainment
11,890,000 shs $1.06 billion 11,880,000 shs+10,000 shs
+0.1%
6.38.3%5.4%Options Volume
Positive News
Lucid Group, Inc. stock logo
LCID
Lucid Group
250,810,000 shs $1.06 billion 239,740,000 shs+11,070,000 shs
+4.6%
9.328.8%N/AAnalyst Report
Etsy, Inc. stock logo
ETSY
Etsy
14,600,000 shs $1.05 billion 13,480,000 shs+1,120,000 shs
+8.3%
4.112.3%11.5%Analyst Report
News Coverage
Zoom Video Communications, Inc. stock logo
ZM
Zoom Video Communications
15,810,000 shs $1.01 billion 16,210,000 shs-400,000 shs
-2.5%
4.76.9%6.7%Insider Selling
Analyst Revision
Five Below, Inc. stock logo
FIVE
Five Below
5,460,000 shs $1.01 billion 5,030,000 shs+430,000 shs
+8.6%
5.810.1%9.8%
SoFi Technologies, Inc. stock logo
SOFI
SoFi Technologies
131,000,000 shs $965.47 million 117,490,000 shs+13,510,000 shs
+11.5%
4.214.8%N/A
Best Buy Co., Inc. stock logo
BBY
Best Buy
13,760,000 shs $947.79 million 12,760,000 shs+1,000,000 shs
+7.8%
5.47.1%5.5%Insider Selling
Analyst Revision
Repligen Co. stock logo
RGEN
Repligen
5,990,000 shs $934.02 million 5,970,000 shs+20,000 shs
+0.3%
9.711.5%10.9%Analyst Revision
News Coverage
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. stock logo
CHRW
C.H. Robinson Worldwide
11,060,000 shs $920.75 million 10,520,000 shs+540,000 shs
+5.1%
10.39.6%8.4%News Coverage
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. stock logo
SIRI
Sirius XM
176,730,000 shs $917.23 million 171,090,000 shs+5,640,000 shs
+3.3%
12.228.4%N/A
Snap Inc. stock logo
SNAP
Snap
74,170,000 shs $904.50 million 69,320,000 shs+4,850,000 shs
+7.0%
3.27.2%5.8%News Coverage
Celanese Co. stock logo
CE
Celanese
7,030,000 shs $894.85 million 7,450,000 shs-420,000 shs
-5.6%
7.56.5%6.2%Positive News
Upstart Holdings, Inc. stock logo
UPST
Upstart
32,550,000 shs $846.30 million 30,160,000 shs+2,390,000 shs
+7.9%
5.845.1%42.3%Insider Selling
Negative News
High Trading Volume
Encore Wire Co. stock logo
WIRE
Encore Wire
4,180,000 shs $837.50 million 4,180,000 shsNo Change1928.1%20.3%News Coverage
Positive News
Deckers Outdoor Co. stock logo
DECK
Deckers Outdoor
1,320,000 shs $834.60 million 1,170,000 shs+150,000 shs
+12.8%
3.45.2%4.7%Analyst Report
Insider Selling
News Coverage
NRG Energy, Inc. stock logo
NRG
NRG Energy
17,220,000 shs $818.12 million 13,110,000 shs+4,110,000 shs
+31.4%
5.27.9%7.0%Analyst Upgrade
Zillow Group, Inc. stock logo
Z
Zillow Group
20,010,000 shs $811.21 million 16,480,000 shs+3,530,000 shs
+21.4%
6.713.0%11.1%Insider Selling
Ceridian HCM Holding Inc. stock logo
CDAY
Ceridian HCM
11,400,000 shs $789.68 million 11,870,000 shs-470,000 shs
-4.0%
9.37.6%N/AAnalyst Report
News Coverage
Unity Software Inc. stock logo
U
Unity Software
25,680,000 shs $775.02 million 24,510,000 shs+1,170,000 shs
+4.8%
2.311.1%9.2%Insider Selling
CNX Resources Co. stock logo
CNX
CNX Resources
34,630,000 shs $749.22 million 32,590,000 shs+2,040,000 shs
+6.3%
13.722.5%15.7%
Lattice Semiconductor Co. stock logo
LSCC
Lattice Semiconductor
12,290,000 shs $745.39 million 11,720,000 shs+570,000 shs
+4.9%
5.89.0%9.0%
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. stock logo
CLF
Cleveland-Cliffs
43,330,000 shs $737.69 million 45,180,000 shs-1,850,000 shs
-4.1%
4.78.8%8.7%Analyst Revision
News Coverage
Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. stock logo
SFM
Sprouts Farmers Market
16,990,000 shs $715.28 million 17,620,000 shs-630,000 shs
-3.6%
10.616.8%14.4%Insider Selling
UiPath Inc. stock logo
PATH
UiPath
37,520,000 shs $700.69 million 42,180,000 shs-4,660,000 shs
-11.1%
5.59.0%N/AInsider Selling
Mobileye Global Inc. stock logo
MBLY
Mobileye Global
16,950,000 shs $690.54 million 17,190,000 shs-240,000 shs
-1.4%
7.619.1%N/ANews Coverage
Positive News
High Trading Volume
RH stock logo
RH
RH
2,640,000 shs $684.47 million 2,560,000 shs+80,000 shs
+3.1%
3.317.7%12.6%Earnings Report
Analyst Upgrade
Analyst Revision
News Coverage
Gap Down
High Trading Volume
Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. stock logo
HST
Host Hotels & Resorts
39,760,000 shs $682.28 million 38,990,000 shs+770,000 shs
+2.0%
5.95.7%5.6%Positive News
BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. stock logo
BJ
BJ's Wholesale Club
9,480,000 shs $677.16 million 9,710,000 shs-230,000 shs
-2.4%
5.77.2%6.9%News Coverage
Kohl's Co. stock logo
KSS
Kohl's
27,310,000 shs $674.83 million 25,730,000 shs+1,580,000 shs
+6.1%
525.9%17.5%Ex-Dividend
Analyst Revision
DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. stock logo
DKS
DICK'S Sporting Goods
5,720,000 shs $674.22 million 5,810,000 shs-90,000 shs
-1.6%
3.710.0%8.7%Analyst Revision
IonQ, Inc. stock logo
IONQ
IonQ
50,990,000 shs $662.87 million 43,010,000 shs+7,980,000 shs
+18.6%
4.830.4%N/A
GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. stock logo
GFS
GLOBALFOUNDRIES
11,740,000 shs $659.08 million 13,070,000 shs-1,330,000 shs
-10.2%
8.814.9%N/APositive News
High Trading Volume
Wolfspeed, Inc. stock logo
WOLF
Wolfspeed
18,130,000 shs $658.66 million 18,570,000 shs-440,000 shs
-2.4%
5.414.6%N/AGap Down
Plug Power Inc. stock logo
PLUG
Plug Power
149,470,000 shs $650.19 million 144,630,000 shs+4,840,000 shs
+3.4%
5.427.7%26.3%Analyst Report
Range Resources Co. stock logo
RRC
Range Resources
18,640,000 shs $642.99 million 17,800,000 shs+840,000 shs
+4.7%
7.18.0%7.2%Dividend Announcement
Analyst Downgrade
News Coverage
DaVita Inc. stock logo
DVA
DaVita
6,730,000 shs $635.78 million 5,140,000 shs+1,590,000 shs
+30.9%
5.37.5%6.2%News Coverage
Positive News
Group 1 Automotive, Inc. stock logo
GPI
Group 1 Automotive
2,180,000 shs $634.23 million 2,240,000 shs-60,000 shs
-2.7%
17.716.4%12.0%News Coverage
Positive News
agilon health, inc. stock logo
AGL
agilon health
49,330,000 shs $616.13 million 46,380,000 shs+2,950,000 shs
+6.4%
17.816.4%N/AAnalyst Report
Atkore Inc. stock logo
ATKR
Atkore
4,510,000 shs $614.31 million 4,570,000 shs-60,000 shs
-1.3%
12.212.3%9.6%
Tempur Sealy International, Inc. stock logo
TPX
Tempur Sealy International
14,600,000 shs $591.15 million 13,600,000 shs+1,000,000 shs
+7.4%
8.48.7%7.4%Positive News
Robert Half Inc. stock logo
RHI
Robert Half
7,360,000 shs $589.39 million 7,280,000 shs+80,000 shs
+1.1%
9.77.2%6.5%News Coverage
Positive News
Civitas Resources, Inc. stock logo
CIVI
Civitas Resources
8,170,000 shs $580.81 million 8,140,000 shs+30,000 shs
+0.4%
5.210.1%N/A
Dropbox, Inc. stock logo
DBX
Dropbox
21,060,000 shs $579.99 million 20,830,000 shs+230,000 shs
+1.1%
7.98.3%6.6%Positive News
Wynn Resorts, Limited stock logo
WYNN
Wynn Resorts
6,630,000 shs $579.86 million 6,640,000 shs-10,000 shs
-0.2%
3.16.9%5.7%Options Volume
Qualys, Inc. stock logo
QLYS
Qualys
3,300,000 shs $577.01 million 3,140,000 shs+160,000 shs
+5.1%
10.19.2%8.4%Insider Selling
SL Green Realty Corp. stock logo
SLG
SL Green Realty
16,130,000 shs $568.74 million 18,070,000 shs-1,940,000 shs
-10.7%
9.125.1%22.9%Dividend Cut
Analyst Report
News Coverage
Burlington Stores, Inc. stock logo
BURL
Burlington Stores
4,140,000 shs $562.27 million 2,750,000 shs+1,390,000 shs
+50.6%
2.36.4%6.2%Analyst Revision
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. stock logo
MDGL
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals
3,460,000 shs $559.41 million 3,410,000 shs+50,000 shs
+1.5%
7.724.3%20.9%Analyst Upgrade
Insider Selling
News Coverage
Gap Down
High Trading Volume
Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. stock logo
FYBR
Frontier Communications Parent
25,690,000 shs $549.77 million 27,820,000 shs-2,130,000 shs
-7.7%
1011.8%N/AAnalyst Report
News Coverage
AutoNation, Inc. stock logo
AN
AutoNation
3,860,000 shs $542.04 million 3,660,000 shs+200,000 shs
+5.5%
7.514.2%4.7%News Coverage
Choice Hotels International, Inc. stock logo
CHH
Choice Hotels International
4,770,000 shs $540.39 million 4,330,000 shs+440,000 shs
+10.2%
9.715.7%8.6%Dividend Increase
News Coverage
Positive News
HF Sinclair Co. stock logo
DINO
HF Sinclair
9,870,000 shs $538.61 million 9,650,000 shs+220,000 shs
+2.3%
5.36.3%N/AInsider Buying
News Coverage
Vornado Realty Trust stock logo
VNO
Vornado Realty Trust
22,960,000 shs $535.66 million 24,240,000 shs-1,280,000 shs
-5.3%
8.313.9%12.0%Dividend Cut
Insider Selling
News Coverage
Ralph Lauren Co. stock logo
RL
Ralph Lauren
4,320,000 shs $535.33 million 5,180,000 shs-860,000 shs
-16.6%
5.611.1%9.0%Positive News
On Holding AG stock logo
ONON
ON
19,220,000 shs $533.74 million 18,330,000 shs+890,000 shs
+4.9%
4.310.3%N/A
Whirlpool Co. stock logo
WHR
Whirlpool
4,600,000 shs $528.95 million 4,500,000 shs+100,000 shs
+2.2%
68.6%7.3%
Trex Company, Inc. stock logo
TREX
Trex
7,910,000 shs $525.38 million 8,280,000 shs-370,000 shs
-4.5%
7.87.3%6.9%News Coverage
Positive News
V.F. Co. stock logo
VFC
V.F.
29,360,000 shs $521.58 million 31,520,000 shs-2,160,000 shs
-6.9%
3.38.0%7.5%Positive News
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. stock logo
ANF
Abercrombie & Fitch
7,470,000 shs $521.26 million 7,420,000 shs+50,000 shs
+0.7%
4.515.3%12.1%Analyst Revision
News Coverage
Avis Budget Group, Inc. stock logo
CAR
Avis Budget Group
2,690,000 shs $518.36 million 2,480,000 shs+210,000 shs
+8.5%
5.77.6%3.9%Dividend Announcement
Analyst Report
News Coverage
High Trading Volume
Generac Holdings Inc. stock logo
GNRC
Generac
4,630,000 shs $512.91 million 5,370,000 shs-740,000 shs
-13.8%
3.87.7%7.4%
Antero Resources Co. stock logo
AR
Antero Resources
19,100,000 shs $512.84 million 19,730,000 shs-630,000 shs
-3.2%
4.36.9%6.3%News Coverage
Campbell Soup stock logo
CPB
Campbell Soup
12,660,000 shs $512.73 million 12,630,000 shs+30,000 shs
+0.2%
4.46.5%4.2%Earnings Report
Analyst Report
Options Volume
News Coverage
Crocs, Inc. stock logo
CROX
Crocs
5,660,000 shs $506.63 million 5,640,000 shs+20,000 shs
+0.4%
49.7%8.7%Insider Selling
H&R Block, Inc. stock logo
HRB
H&R Block
11,090,000 shs $505.26 million 11,600,000 shs-510,000 shs
-4.4%
87.8%6.1%Analyst Downgrade
News Coverage
The Gap, Inc. stock logo
GPS
GAP
35,390,000 shs $497.94 million 37,270,000 shs-1,880,000 shs
-5.0%
3.816.8%9.4%
Bank OZK stock logo
OZK
Bank OZK
12,050,000 shs $497.91 million 12,430,000 shs-380,000 shs
-3.1%
14.511.2%N/AAnalyst Upgrade
Matador Resources stock logo
MTDR
Matador Resources
8,520,000 shs $496.72 million 8,780,000 shs-260,000 shs
-3.0%
6.27.8%7.3%Insider Buying
News Coverage
Penske Automotive Group, Inc. stock logo
PAG
Penske Automotive Group
3,090,000 shs $493.26 million 3,060,000 shs+30,000 shs
+1.0%
12.116.6%3.8%News Coverage
Positive News
Macy's, Inc. stock logo
M
Macy's
38,760,000 shs $488.76 million 31,620,000 shs+7,140,000 shs
+22.6%
3.214.3%12.4%News Coverage
Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. stock logo
IONS
Ionis Pharmaceuticals
9,740,000 shs $484.76 million 9,700,000 shs+40,000 shs
+0.4%
9.47.0%N/A

Key Points

  • Stocks with high short interest have a higher chance of a short squeeze.
  • High short interest above 20% indicates bearish or negative investor sentiment.
  • Short selling can have unlimited losses as a stock can rise indefinitely, whereas a long position can only go to zero.
  • 5 stocks we like better than EXA)

When a stock price rises rapidly during the day, some news catalyst usually drives the share higher. Buying pressures cause stock prices to rise when demand outstrips supply. The price rise can get extreme at times as prices may rise parabolically. 

While the news may be responsible for the move, it may be magnified by a short squeeze. Short sellers may be forced to cover their positions by buying too close, which propels shares higher in the process. A good indicator of the short squeeze potential for any stock is its short interest. What is short interest? In this article, we will review what you need to know about short interest and how to track it and use it for trading and investing. 

Overview of Short Interest 

Short interest indicates how many shares of stock remain short or are sold short and haven't been covered yet. It's important to know what it means to short sell a stock. Typically, investors tend to buy stocks taking a long position. You can profit if the stock price rises above your entry price. You lose money if the stock price falls below your entry price. You lock in and cash in your profits by selling your long position. This naturally causes some selling pressure. If too many people sell the stock, the price can fall lower. 

When you short a stock, you are selling it first, hoping for the price to fall so you can repurchase it at a lower price. The stock must be shortable, and then the shares are borrowed from the broker, who goes through a clearinghouse and lends it to you. Remember that not all stocks are shortable. 

To return to the broker, you borrow shares to sell and repurchase them, preferably at a lower price. The lower the price falls below your sell price, the more profits you can make. You cover the short to lock in your profits, which means buying back the stock. Covering a short position causes buying pressure. If too many short sellers cover simultaneously, the buying pressure can cause shares to rise rapidly, triggering a short squeeze.

A short squeeze is a real phenomenon where a stock's price rises sharply on heavy volume, forcing other short sellers to cover their short position to avoid further losses. Buying to cover perpetuates the price rise as more short sellers cover their position in a panic as the price continues to rise from the buying pressure. Short squeezes trigger when unexpected favorable news, rumors or events make the news wires. They can build up and accelerate as the stock price rises. A high short interest indicates a bearish investor sentiment in the stock. 

The odds of a short squeeze are higher for stocks with the highest short interest. Consumer discretionary stocks tend to have a higher short interest than consumer staples stocks. A high short interest can trigger a short squeeze which would cause the underlying price to move to rise faster and higher than if it had a low short interest. The rule of thumb is that stocks with the highest short interest have the highest probability of a short squeeze. Short interest can be listed by the number of shares that are short or a percentage of the outstanding shares or the float that are short. 

Blue-chip stocks tend to have a low short interest. It's crucial to be aware of an ex-dividend date if shorting a dividend stock because you will have to pay the dividend if you do. Yes, the dividend payment comes out of your pocket if you hold a short position on a dividend stock through its ex-dividend date. This is very important for traders who think they can get easy short-selling profits since dividend stocks gap down the dividend amount on the ex-dividend date. Blue-chip stocks with a dividend tend to have some of the lowest short interest in the market.

Highest short interest stocks overview infographic

Why Do Investors Short Sell?

What would compel someone to expect a stock price to fall? That's the real question when asking why investors and traders short sell a stock. There are many reasons to sell a stock short, but truly only one real motive for doing it. To make money off the stock price falling lower and profit from the price decline. The reasons for shorting a stock can range from bad news like a weak earnings report or lowered guidance or losing court cases, or analyst downgrading to accounting irregularities and short-seller reports. 

The other motive could be to hedge a long position of a like stock or company. Most brokers don't allow you to go long and short the same stock in your account. This is called shorting the box. However, you can consider shorting a similar stock to your long position or a benchmark index, depending on how well it's correlated with them. If you have more than one broker, consider hedging a long position in one account with a short position of the same stock in another.

What Does Short Interest Signal? 

Investors lean toward a price decline as more shares get short for various reasons. A rising short interest, or a high short interest, reflects a bearish sentiment for the underlying stock. As short interest grows, the risk of a short squeeze also grows. Typically, stocks with a high short interest have a negative sentiment that depresses share prices. 

Often, stocks with high short interest have fundamental problems like falling sales, falling profits, falling margins, accounting irregularities and potential fraud. A stock that rises too fast may invite short sellers who feel the price rise isn't justified or is artificial and expect the stock price to come back down. 

How to Use Short Interest

You can use short interest in many ways. A high short interest implies a bearish or negative sentiment in the stock. The high short interest may result in a higher extended price due to the short sellers being forced to cover. You can consider joining in on the short if shares are borrowable. Conversely, consider trading the long position when favorable news hits the wires.

Short interest helps you gauge the market sentiment for a particular stock. The bearish sentiment can depress stock prices in the longer term, while short squeezes can happen soon. You may want to avoid high short interest stocks in your long-term portfolio.

Example of a High Short Interest Stock

Many investors consider a short interest of 10% of the float or higher to be a high short interest. Most investors will agree that a 20% or higher short interest is considered a high short interest. Here is an example of a stock with a high short interest.

Short interest overview of Carvana on MarketBeat

Carvana Co. (NASDAQ: CVNA) is a nationwide vending machine user car dealer. It enables car buyers to shop, trade for cars and pick up their purchases at over 30 vending machine locations in the U.S. The concept and potential seemed incredible in the pandemic reopening as shares skyrocketed to $376.83 on a short squeeze in August 2021. However, the reality proved otherwise as revenues sank and losses grew, sending shares down on bankruptcy fears to a low of $3.55 in December 2022. 

Shares were able to rally from the lows to a high of $19.87 in February 2023 on a short squeeze. The 25.86% short interest caused the bounces to move in double-digit percentages on a short squeeze, keeping the bears on their toes.

Carvana short squeeze

CVNA shares short squeezed over 300%, rising from 6.33 on Jan. 27 to $19.87 on Feb. 2. However, the bearish sentiment caused shares to fall back to a mid-$6 by mid-March. CVNA shares triggered another short squeeze from $7.43 to a high of $13.70 in reaction to its earnings report on May 4. The high short interest in this stock has triggered extensive upside price spikes but reversions set in after the volume normalizes.

How to Use the MarketBeat Short Interest Tracker

Look at how to use the MarketBeat Short Interest Tracker below.

Overview of how to use MarketBeat's short interest tracker

Step 1: Sort the criteria.

Use the MarketBeat Highest Short Interest tool and select the criteria to sort the list. You can find the stocks with the highest short interest on MarketBeat. The list identifies the highest short-interest stocks. The list is sorted by dollar volume sold short, but can also be sorted by "shares sold short," "change from the previous report," "days to cover," "percentage of float shorted" and "percentage of total shares shorted." Just click the specific heading to rearrange the list by that heading. You can check for any news with sizeable short-interest stocks.

Step 2: Select a direction.

After you select the stocks to trade:

  1. Determine the direction.
  2. If you plan to make a trade, decide whether you want to consider a long or short position.
  3. Be careful not to assume that a high short interest will result in a squeeze.

Stocks have a high short interest for a reason, and enough participants are skeptical enough to warrant putting their money where their mouth is with shares sold short. Don't assume that companies with high short interest will automatically trigger a short squeeze.

Step 3: Perform research.

Do your fundamental research on the company operations by reading the recent 10-K, conference call transcripts, press release and analyst reports. Do technical analysis with charts to determine the price trend, support and resistance levels. These are levels for entry and exit. Plan your trade using these levels for entry, profit and stop losses.

Step 4: Place and manage the trade.

Stick to your trading plan. Place your limit order(s) for entry either on the long or the short side. If shorting, confirm borrowable shares and note the maintenance margin requirement. It's crucial to keep a stop loss when shorting a stock to avoid more minor losses turning into massive losses that could blow out your account. Execute the trade and continue to monitor and manage it. Be sure to take your exits as price levels are high, either on the upside or the downside. 

What is a Short Squeeze?

A short squeeze is a phenomenon where a stock's price spikes sharply, rapidly and extensively, forcing short sellers to buy shares to cover their positions to avoid more significant losses. As share prices rise, the value of their short position may rise beyond the margin limits. This can trigger a margin call, which requires the trader to deposit more capital into the account or buy back shares to cover some or all of the short positions and take the losses. All short selling is done with a margin account. You can only borrow shares in a margin account. 

If a stock squeezes high enough, like squeezing up over 100% in an hour, it can trigger a forced liquidation, a margin call that automatically covers the short position at market prices. This means the broker will automatically repurchase the shares using market orders to cut the losses in the account. Market buy orders can result in expensive buy covers during a short squeeze. Forced liquidations can happen automatically without warning. For this reason, it's very critical to be aware of the maintenance margin requirements on any stock you are short. Brokers can adjust the maintenance margin abruptly during the day, so stay on top.

Risks of Short Selling

The most significant risk of short selling is the unlimited loss potential of a short position that goes against you. With long positions, you can only lose the amount you bought in the stock. If you buy at $32, you can only lose ($32) per share if it goes to zero, theoretically. However, if you short sell a stock at $32, it can keep rising and mounting up unlimited losses. A great example is video game retailer GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME). The stock short squeezed from $4.75 on Jan. 11, 2021, to a high of $120.75 (split adjusted) on Jan. 25, 2021. GME had a short interest of 140%, which implies a large percentage of illegal naked shorts. Naked shorts happen when a stock is shorted without actually borrowing the shares. 

GME kicked off the "meme stock" mania triggering short squeezes on various other stocks with high short interests like AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC), which rallied from $5.87 to $44.61 (split adjusted) in two weeks. 

Don't Rely Solely on Short Interest Alone

The meme stock mania of 2021 instilled the belief that all stocks with a high short interest were destined to short squeeze higher. However, the meme stock mania transformed into the meme stock bubble as almost every high short interest stock that rallied to highs in 2021 eventually sold off back down to the lows by mid-to-late 2022. The moral of this cautionary tale is not to rely solely on a high short interest to go long, expecting a short squeeze to propel the stock higher. Stocks with a high short interest often fall lower after periods of a short squeeze. 

FAQs

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about "What is short interest in stocks?"

What does short interest tell you?

Short interest tells you the investor sentiment on the underlying stock. A high short interest above 20% indicates investors are bearish, while a low short interest under 5% indicates bullish investor sentiment. If you can spot what stock has the highest short interest, you may witness a short squeeze on favorable news.

Is low short interest good or bad?

Low short interest indicates a bullish sentiment for the underlying stock. It indicates the absence of bears compared to bulls. As an investor, low short interest is a good sign and indicator of bullishness in the stock. 

What is short vs. long interest?

Short interest indicates the level of bearishness in the stock. There isn't a direct indicator called long interest in a stock. However, you can do the math and subtract short interest from the total float, percentage of the float or outstanding shares to determine the long interest. For example, if the short interest is 25%, then one can assume the long interest is 75%.

Jea Yu

About Jea Yu

  • JeaYu21@gmail.com

Contributing Author

Trading Strategies

Experience

Jea Yu has been a contributing writer for MarketBeat since 2019.

Areas of Expertise

Equities, options, ETFs and futures; fundamental, qualitative, quantitative and technical analysis and pattern identification; active and swing trading; trading systems and methodology development

Education

B.A. University of Maryland, College Park

Past Experience

U.S. equity markets trader, writer and analyst for over 25 years. Published four books by publishers McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons, Marketplace Books and Bloomberg Press. Speaker at various expos and seminars and has been quoted and featured in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Traders Magazine, The Financial Times and various trade publications, including Stocks & Commodities, Active Trader and Online Investor.


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