15 Stocks With the Most Short Squeeze Potential

Why It Matters

If short squeezes materialize, they could generate rapid price spikes, rewarding contrarian investors and reshaping risk dynamics in volatile sectors like crypto, satellite and energy.

Key Takeaways

• Screen identifies 15 heavily shorted stocks as squeeze candidates
• Method uses one‑year short‑interest data and two‑week average price
• Applied Digital, AST SpaceMobile, and PBF Energy top the list
• Potential squeezes may rise if oil prices stabilize
• Data reflects latest reporting period ending March 1

Pulse Analysis

Short squeezes have resurfaced as a focal point for opportunistic traders amid today’s market turbulence. While oil price spikes dominate headlines, the underlying mechanics of a squeeze—short sellers scrambling to cover positions—can ignite dramatic price rallies in otherwise overlooked equities. Investors who monitor short‑interest metrics can spot stocks where the cost of maintaining a short position becomes untenable, especially when external catalysts, such as stabilizing commodity prices, reduce broader market risk and free capital for speculative bets.

The new screen, assembled by Schafer’s research team, blends a year of short‑interest filings with a two‑week rolling average price to approximate the breakeven point for short sellers. By back‑dating the addition of short positions to the average price preceding each filing, the model flags stocks where shorts may already be incurring sizable unrealized losses. Though the methodology involves assumptions—such as uniform entry prices and ignoring dynamic hedging—it provides a pragmatic snapshot of potential squeeze candidates, spotlighting names like Applied Digital, a crypto‑infrastructure firm, AST SpaceMobile, which is building satellite connectivity, and PBF Energy, a refiner poised to benefit from a calmer oil market.

For the professional investor, the screen offers a contrarian lens to identify high‑conviction, short‑biased positions that could reverse sharply. However, short squeezes remain unpredictable; they require sufficient buying pressure and often hinge on broader sentiment shifts. Traders should weigh the upside of rapid gains against the volatility risk, employing tight risk controls and monitoring catalyst events. As oil prices find footing, the highlighted stocks may experience the kind of short‑covering rally that reshapes sector momentum, presenting both opportunity and caution for portfolio managers.