Short Interest & Squeeze Watch: Who the Market Is Betting Against
Every US-listed stock's short interest from FINRA's consolidated bi-monthly filings — the actual standing bets, not daily short-sale flow. Per stock: percent of shares short, days-to-cover and its percentile across the market. Plus the aggregate gauge since 2017 and a frozen study answering the question every squeeze thread skips: do high-short-interest stocks actually squeeze? Cross-check live action on Unusual Volume and the options tape.
Latest settlement
At the July 31, 2026 settlement, the median US common stock had 3.2% of its shares sold short (median days-to-cover 3.7). 16% of the 5,500-stock universe carried short interest above 10% of shares, and 5.0% above 20% (prior settlement median: 3.4%). Consolidated FINRA data across all US exchanges; the next settlement publishes about two weeks after month-end.
Sources, methodology & freshnessLast updated 2026-08-21 · Open ↓Close ↑
Across 5,500 US common stocks in our universe, consolidated over every exchange by FINRA.
The study in one line: the typical highest-SI stock went 0.1% over the next quarter (a coin flip), but its +50% squeeze odds were 3.3× a low-SI stock's.
The aggregate gauge — market-wide short positioning
The median stock's short interest at every bi-monthly settlement since 2017. Rising medians mean shorts leaning into the whole tape; falling medians mean covering or capitulation. Universe coverage grows over time as listings enter our price database — the level drifts up partly for that reason, so read the direction more than the absolute level.
The heavily-shorted share: percent of the universe with more than 10% of shares sold short.
Do high-short-interest stocks actually squeeze?
The honest test, frozen before this page shipped: at each of 201 settlement dates, stocks above $300M market cap and $5 were bucketed into short-interest quintiles, and each bucket's forward 63-session returns were graded. The answer cuts both ways. The typical high-SI stock does not squeeze — the top quintile's median forward return is 0.1% with a 50% win rate, a coin flip. But the squeezes live almost entirely there: 5.8% of high-SI names gained +50% within the quarter, versus 1.7% of low-SI names — and that fat right tail drags the top quintile's average (3.4%) above every other bucket. High short interest buys squeeze exposure, not expected return.
| SI quintile | Avg fwd 63s | Win rate | +50% squeeze rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| lowest SI | 2.06% | 53.9% | 1.74% |
| Q2 | 2.82% | 55.4% | 1.71% |
| Q3 | 2.95% | 54.6% | 2.22% |
| Q4 | 3.15% | 52.9% | 3.53% |
| highest SI | 3.36% | 50.1% | 5.78% |
Most shorted stocks — SI % of shares
The 30 highest short-interest names above $300M market cap at the latest settlement. Readings above ~50% usually mix directional bets with arbitrage positions (convertibles, merger spreads) — check the story before reading pure conviction.
| Symbol | SI % shares | Days to cover | SI value | Mkt cap | Pctile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WOLF | 91.4% | 5.5 | $610M | $497M | 99 |
| AVTX | 70.0% | 14.4 | $257M | $301M | 99 |
| ONDS | 60.9% | 1.9 | $2.05B | $5.3B | 99 |
| ALT | 49.8% | 11.4 | $162M | $561M | 99 |
| NUAI | 43.9% | 2.9 | $114M | $431M | 99 |
| SOUN | 42.0% | 4.2 | $1.19B | $4.6B | 99 |
| GOSS | 41.0% | 1.5 | $15M | $664M | 99 |
| EOSE | 40.1% | 4.4 | $441M | $5.9B | 99 |
| SLS | 38.6% | 7.9 | $850M | $768M | 99 |
| NTLA | 38.0% | 12.0 | $565M | $1.8B | 99 |
| NTST | 37.6% | 22.1 | $640M | $1.5B | 99 |
| LENZ | 36.2% | 11.8 | $53M | $666M | 99 |
| JACK | 35.8% | 9.4 | $116M | $415M | 99 |
| SERV | 35.5% | 8.6 | $132M | $987M | 99 |
| ASST | 35.5% | 8.0 | $403M | $1.1B | 99 |
| RXRX | 35.2% | 9.3 | $633M | $2.6B | 99 |
| REPL | 35.1% | 3.3 | $407M | $620M | 99 |
| CAPR | 35.0% | 2.1 | $101M | $1.3B | 99 |
| INDI | 34.5% | 16.6 | $290M | $928M | 98 |
| IREN | 34.0% | 1.9 | $4.11B | $17.2B | 98 |
| DDD | 33.9% | 22.1 | $139M | $413M | 98 |
| BBAI | 33.8% | 5.7 | $475M | $2.7B | 98 |
| AI | 33.7% | 8.4 | $477M | $1.8B | 98 |
| GRPN | 33.7% | 9.5 | $269M | $659M | 98 |
| FCEL | 33.4% | 1.6 | $311M | $474M | 98 |
| HTZ | 33.1% | 6.0 | $232M | $1.8B | 98 |
| TNGX | 33.1% | 19.1 | $1.07B | $1.7B | 98 |
| BTDR | 32.7% | 6.2 | $658M | $3.3B | 98 |
| OCGN | 32.3% | 21.6 | $140M | $515M | 98 |
| PCT | 31.6% | 15.1 | $388M | $2.2B | 98 |
Slowest exits — days to cover
Short interest divided by average daily volume: how many normal sessions of buying it would take for every short to cover. Squeezes need this — a crowded short with huge daily volume can unwind quietly.
| Symbol | SI % shares | Days to cover | SI value | Mkt cap | Pctile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNL | 1.9% | 40.2 | $25M | $1.5B | 35 |
| IMO | 4.1% | 39.0 | $2.76B | $49.3B | 57 |
| GYRE | 1.9% | 37.4 | $13M | $775M | 36 |
| CD | 7.0% | 33.8 | $17M | $449M | 74 |
| LUXE | 2.9% | 33.4 | $31M | $1.2B | 46 |
| TY | 1.6% | 28.8 | $29M | $1.7B | 32 |
| IEP | 2.8% | 28.6 | $115M | $4.8B | 46 |
| OBA | 0.0% | 28.5 | — | $320M | 2 |
| RNA | 2.3% | 28.4 | $46M | $11.0B | 41 |
| ISOU | 3.5% | 27.7 | $23M | $640M | 52 |
| STOK | 27.7% | 27.7 | $510M | $1.7B | 98 |
| DMAC | 10.0% | 27.4 | $34M | $434M | 84 |
| AZ | 11.0% | 27.3 | $33M | $319M | 86 |
| BNTC | 6.3% | 26.7 | $29M | $434M | 71 |
| LCTX | 12.8% | 26.2 | — | $380M | 89 |
Biggest changes vs the prior settlement
The largest swings in short interest among names already carrying 5%+ SI — building bets and covering in progress, per FINRA's own change calculation.
| Symbol | SI % shares | Days to cover | Change vs prior | Mkt cap | Pctile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLBK | 19.2% | 1.4 | +353.8% | $1.7B | 95 |
| WLFC | 9.9% | 8.0 | +229.9% | $1.3B | 84 |
| ROAD | 9.5% | 2.8 | +72.1% | $6.5B | 83 |
| SLP | 14.1% | 5.2 | +59.7% | $418M | 90 |
| BLFS | 9.4% | 2.1 | +59.1% | $1.3B | 82 |
| PRIM | 8.3% | 3.1 | +50.2% | $8.1B | 79 |
| MEC | 10.2% | 3.3 | +47.8% | $380M | 84 |
| ATAI | 5.5% | 1.0 | -47.5% | $1.4B | 67 |
| EA | 5.1% | 4.4 | +45.9% | $51.1B | 64 |
| ALM | 10.4% | 4.2 | +44.3% | $2.7B | 85 |
| USAS | 5.8% | 4.4 | +42.6% | $2.7B | 68 |
| NTNX | 5.6% | 5.8 | -42.5% | $11.6B | 67 |
| OPTU | 5.4% | 5.7 | +41.7% | $855M | 66 |
| ELVA | 6.9% | 3.6 | +41.4% | $520M | 74 |
| BATRK | 5.9% | 7.8 | +40.4% | $2.5B | 69 |
Across 5,500 US common stocks in our universe, consolidated over every exchange by FINRA.
The study in one line: the typical highest-SI stock went 0.1% over the next quarter (a coin flip), but its +50% squeeze odds were 3.3× a low-SI stock's.
How Short Interest & Squeeze Watch Works
- 1Pull every bi-monthly settlement from FINRAFINRA member firms must report short positions in all equity securities twice a month (Rule 4560), with settlements on the 15th and the last business day, published about two weeks later. We pull the consolidated dataset — all exchanges, not one venue — for every settlement since 2017.
- 2Join to our own price and share dataEach snapshot is joined to our US common-stock universe. Short interest percent = shares short ÷ shares outstanding, using split-consistent share counts derived from market cap and adjusted prices. Days-to-cover is FINRA's own figure: shares short ÷ average daily volume.
- 3Aggregate the market-wide gaugeAt every settlement we compute the median stock's short interest, the median days-to-cover, and the share of stocks with more than 10% and 20% of their shares sold short — the positioning cycle in three lines.
- 4Grade the squeeze folklore, then freeze itAt each settlement date, stocks above a $300M market cap and $5 price are bucketed into short-interest quintiles; forward 63-session returns, win rates and +50% squeeze frequencies are graded per bucket. The study is frozen — it re-runs only deliberately, never silently.