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.
On a bi-monthly basis, we publish a list of 10 equities that have seen their short interest increase by 10% or more since the previous FINRA reporting period. 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.
We also detail recent news and trends for at least three of the stocks in each Short Interest Monitor, explaining what may have led short sellers to target these companies. On top of that, we break down any clear sector- or industry-specific trends in FINRA's short interest data and discuss a few—often more high-profile—stocks with rising short interest that didn't make our list.
| Company | Current short interest | % change from last period | Days to cover | Short interest as a % of outstanding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SoFi Technologies (SOFI) |
165.4M |
18.3% |
2.33 |
12.9% |
|
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) |
53.4M |
13.6% |
2.63 |
11.7% |
|
Lyft Inc. (LYFT) |
76.5M |
18.3% |
3.77 |
19.2% |
|
Avis Budget Group (CAR) |
9.0M |
11.1% |
7.27 |
25.6% |
|
MP Materials (MP) |
25.7M |
10.6% |
4.28 |
14.5% |
|
Akamai Technologies (AKAM) |
18.0M |
22.6% |
3.37 |
12.3% |
|
Strategy (MSTR) |
35.9M |
10.6% |
1.79 |
10.4% |
|
Alaska Air Group (ALK) |
15.1M |
16.8% |
2.86 |
13.3% |
|
Freshpet (FRPT) |
6.2M |
21.2% |
2.75 |
12.6% |
|
Archer Aviation (ACHR) |
98.7M |
12.6% |
3.43 |
13.3% |
Key terms
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 total outstanding 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 may indicate more severe bearish sentiment and a higher potential for a short squeeze.
Data limitations
The Short Interest Monitor is based on publicly available data from FINRA and Schwab.com. This data has some notable limitations. Consider the following:
FINRA requires broker-dealers to report total open short positions for all 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. As a result, this data is by nature backward-looking and non-exhaustive. For more information, review FINRA's article titled "Short Interest — What It Is, What It Is Not."
The 'short interest as a percentage of shares outstanding' statistics cited in the Short Interest Monitor come from Schwab.com and are mainly used to gauge market sentiment. These statistics should not be confused with 'short interest as a percentage of float', which tracks shorted shares against publicly available shares (float) and is typically viewed as a better measure of short-squeeze potential.