Short squeeze candidates

The strongest short-squeeze setups combine four things: a high short interest as a percent of float, a high days-to-cover, a low float (few shares for shorts to buy back), and rising short interest. This list ranks liquid U.S. stocks by a squeeze score that blends all four (short interest from FINRA as of Sep 30, 2026, float from SEC filings). A high score flags a setup, not a guarantee, squeezes are rare.

The score (0-100) weights short interest as a percent of float most heavily, then adds points for days-to-cover (how long shorts would need to buy back), a low-float bonus (a smaller float squeezes harder), and a bonus when short interest rose since the last report. Every ingredient is shown on the row so you can see why a stock ranks where it does.

A squeeze usually starts with a catalyst, earnings, news, or a sharp move up, that forces short sellers to buy back shares to cover losses. That buying pushes the price higher, forcing more covering, in a feedback loop. Heavily-shorted, low-float names are the most vulnerable because there are so few shares available to buy back.

Short interest is reported by FINRA about twice a month; this uses the latest settlement (Sep 30, 2026) and shows whether it rose or fell versus the prior one. A high squeeze score is a volatility and risk signal, not a prediction. Nothing here is investment advice.