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 May 16.
Vertex Energy: Environmental services company Vertex Energy (NASDAQ:VTNR) collects used oil from businesses. Shares of the oil related company have climbed from $8 to $14 over the last month. The stock tops the Fintel short squeeze leaderboard for the week. Fintel shows 33% of the total short float and a cost to borrow of 134%.
Veru Inc: Biopharmaceutical company Veru Inc (NASDAQ:VERU) ranks second on this week’s leaderboard. Fintel shows 27% of the total float short, with the increase in shares short up 399% over the last month. The cost to borrow is 10.6%, among the lowest on the list. An increase to the cost to borrow next week could see Veru topping the list.
Eliem Therapeutics: Biotechnology company Eliem Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ELYM) saw shares trade over $29 in September before a slow downfall that was elevated Monday with a 25% drop after quarterly earnings. Short interest sits at 1 million shares, or around 13% of the total float. Fintel shows a cost to borrow of 13.8%.
Medavail Holdings: Telehealth enabled pharmacy company Medavail Holdings (NASDAQ:MDVL) remains on the leaderboard, but falls from second place to fourth for the week. Fintel shows 18.5% of the total float short, compared to 21.9% in the previous week. The cost to borrow shares is 100.7%, up from last week’s 98%.
Camping World Holdings: Recreational vehicle retailer and product company Camping World Holdings (NYSE:CWH) ranks fifth on the leaderboard for the second straight week. Fintel shows 47.8% of the total float short, up from last week’s 46.8% figure. The cost to borrow shares is 20.0%, down slightly from last week’s 20.8%.
Photo: Created with an image from Brian on Flickr
