Potential short squeeze plays have gained steam in 2021 with new retail traders looking for the next $GameStop(GME.US)$ or $AMC Entertainment(AMC.US)$.
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.
Here is a look at Fintel's top five short squeeze candidates for the week of Oct. 18.
$Progenity(PROG.US)$: Biotechnology company Progenity Inc has been a popular and trending stock over the last several weeks. Fintel reports the stock now has 22.4% of its float shorted. Raw short interest in Progenity is up 185% in the last month and up 316% since the end of July. The borrow fee is 74.6% on shares.
Shares climbed from $0.66 to $2.70 last week. Fintel points to a battle between short sellers and meme-stockers in Progenity.
$Digital Brands Group Inc(DBGI.US)$: Direct-to-consumer brand company Digital Brands Group comes in second on Fintel’s list with a score of 95.94. The stock has 18.8% of its free float shorted. Raw short interest in Digital Brands is up 973% in the last reporting period. The borrow cost is 37.1% in shares. Fintel reports that there is 3.4 days to cover.
$Vinco Ventures(BBIG.US)$: No stranger to the Fintel top short squeeze candidates, Vinco Ventures comes in third on this week’s list. After not appearing last week, Vinco Ventures is back with a score of 95.46 and a float that is 24.4% short. FIntel reports the cost to borrow is 31.8% and some reporting that there are no shares available to borrow.
$RED CAT HOLDINGS(RCAT.US)$: Small cap Red Cat Holdings Inc is involved in the drone industry. The company saw shares soar from around $2.15 to over $4 on news of a NASA contract for one of its subsidiaries. The stock has 12.5% of its float traded short and a borrow cost of 30.3%. Raw short interest in Red Cat shares is up 432% in one month, according to Fintel.
$Paltalk Inc(PALT.US)$: Communications company Paltalk rejoins the top five short squeeze candidates list. Fintel reports 7% of the float shorted, the lowest percent of the top five. Shares have the highest borrow fee of the top five at 148.3%, making the stock a possible short squeeze. A 1.4 million share offering could lower the chances of a squeeze as the float will increase and shorted float could drop further.