The Short Interest Monitor

Tracking stocks with high and rising short interest can help traders gauge market sentiment, monitor positioning trends, and spot potential red flags in key market sectors. That's why our Short Interest Monitor—using data from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and Schwab.com—highlights equities that have recently seen a rise in short interest.

Our latest list highlights a wide range of stocks in various industries, including a few names that have made headlines in recent weeks.

Pinterest (PINS) attracted attention in early March after the activist hedge fund Elliott Investment Management invested $1 billion in the social media company, helping boost its stock price after a choppy 2025. PINS said it plans to use the capital to buy back shares. Despite the vote of confidence from Elliott, traders increased short positions against PINS in the first two weeks of March. Its short interest rose more than 123% from the previous reporting period. This came after the company reported underwhelming fourth-quarter earnings results in mid-February. Net income sank 85% year over year, and revenue forecasts were weaker than expected. In January, PINS laid off nearly 15% of its workforce and reduced its office space, saying it was reallocating resources toward AI initiatives.

The AI cloud computing firm CoreWeave (CRWV), which went public in March 2025, was also a target for short sellers in early March. Despite reporting a 110% year-over-year revenue jump in its fourth-quarter earnings report on February 26, weaker-than-expected guidance and widening adjusted losses per share appeared to spook some investors. CRWV saw a 14% jump in its short interest versus the prior reporting period, while its days-to-cover metric rose to 2.71. As of March 25, roughly 11.6% of the company's outstanding shares were sold short. CRWV's stock got a boost in early January after Nvidia (NVDA) invested $2 billion and deepened its ties with the company, which is focused on building specialized, large-scale data centers it calls "AI factories."

Oklo Inc. (OKLO) shares have plummeted nearly 70% from their record October 2025 highs, leading short sellers to begin circling the nuclear reactor designer. OKLO's short interest rose 10% from the prior reporting period in the first two weeks of March, and more than 12% of its outstanding shares are now sold short. The company's March 17 earnings did little to ease investor fears. OKLO reported $139.3 million in operating losses and guided for its cash burn to increase in 2026 as it seeks to build and operate nuclear reactors intended to power data centers.

Check out the table below to see our list of 10 equities with elevated and rising short interest. Each stock has a market cap of at least $2 billion and short interest that represents at least 10% of the company's total outstanding shares.

A few stocks that didn't meet the criteria to make our list stood out when reviewing FINRA's latest short interest data.

Blue Owl Capital (OWL) saw a 43.8% jump in its short interest versus the prior reporting period in the first two weeks of March. The alternative investment management company, which provides loan for middle market companies that can't secure financing through traditional means, made headlines in February after it was forced to sell $1.4 billion in assets from three of its private credit funds to pay down debts and return capital to investors. More than 8% of OWL's outstanding shares were sold short as of March 25. The private credit market continues to face pressure amid rising defaults and high investor redemption requests, which have raised liquidity concerns.

Ares Capital Corporation (ARES), the largest publicly traded business development company, is another example of the private credit market's current pressures. The company saw its short interest rise 37.5% compared to the prior reporting period in early March, while its days-to-cover metric hit 4.08. ARES' parent company, Ares Management, was in the spotlight this month after it limited withdrawals to certain private credit funds amid a surge in redemption requests.

Short interest in several major U.S-based airlines also rose sharply in FINRA's latest report. After the Iran conflict began in late February, a surge in oil—and therefore jet fuel—prices has weighed on airline stocks. From the prior reporting period, Alaska Airlines (ALK) saw its short interest surge nearly 33% in the first two weeks of March, while American Airlines (AAL) and Delta Air Lines (DAL) saw their short interest rise 12.8% and 7.5%, respectively.

Schwab's list of highly shorted stocks includes a few key terms that should be clearly understood. There are also notable limitations to the FINRA data used in this series. Consider the following:

FINRA requires broker-dealers to report total open short positions for all the equity securities on their books twice monthly. It then compiles this data and releases it to the public on the seventh business day after the reporting settlement date. However, FINRA's short interest report does not include off-exchange short sale trades, and it only reflects a snapshot of short positions held by brokerage firms on two specific days each month. For more information, review FINRA's article titled "Short Interest — What It Is, What It Is Not."

Our Short Interest Monitor includes four key statistics worth defining: current short interest, percentage short interest change from the prior reporting period, days to cover, and short interest as a percentage of shares outstanding.

• Current short interest represents the total number of open short positions held on brokerage firms' books for a given security, as reported by FINRA.
• Percentage change from the prior reporting period reflects the percentage increase or decrease in the total number of open short positions for a given security compared to the previous reporting cycle.
• Days to cover measures how many days—at average daily volume—it would take for all short sellers to buy back their borrowed shares and close their positions. Higher numbers typically indicate a stronger bearish conviction and greater risk of a short squeeze.
• Short interest as a percentage of shares outstanding represents the portion of a company's tradable shares that are currently sold short and not yet covered. A ratio above 10% is typically considered high, while a ratio of 20% or more indicates more severe bearish sentiment and a higher potential for a short squeeze.

It's also worth noting that targeting battleground stocks is a high-risk tactic. While some traders may be hoping to participate in a short squeeze that can drive prices higher, stocks with high or rising short interest may have deteriorating fundamentals, rising competition, or other issues that could continue to weigh on their prices. Additionally, these stocks may experience increased volatility or have liquidity issues. And a single event—like a positive earnings report or lawsuit outcome—can quickly shift market narratives, leading to unexpected price moves.

Finally, short sellers should keep in mind that highly shorted stocks often come with equally high borrowing fees that can weigh on returns. Dividend payments are also deducted from short seller accounts on the pay date, and losses from short selling are theoretically unlimited.