Short squeezes have been among the most popular and controversial topics on Wall Street in the past few years. In 2021, groups of online stock traders on Reddit made headlines by orchestrating targeted buying campaigns to trigger short squeezes in GameStop Corp. (ticker: GME), AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC) and other heavily shorted stocks.
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A short squeeze is a large, short-term spike in a stock’s share price that occurs when a significant number of short sellers are forced to buy shares and exit their positions all at once. Here are nine stocks primed for the next big short squeezes, according to Ortex Analytics data:
| Stock | Short Interest | Cost to Borrow* |
| Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (GALT) | 18.4% | 53.4% |
| TPI Composites Inc. (TPIC) | 23.5% | 47.1% |
| Beyond Meat Inc. (BYND) | 40.5% | 55.9% |
| Ocugen Inc. (OCGN) | 24.3% | 31.2% |
| Pacific Biosciences of California Inc. (PACB) | 17.0% | 66.1% |
| Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (SPCE) | 27.4% | 47.2% |
| Microvision Inc. (MVIS) | 23.1% | 37.3% |
| FuelCell Energy Inc. (FCEL) | 22.1% | 28.4% |
| Oatly Group AB (OTLY) | 10.6% | 106.4% |
*A high borrowing cost is an indicator of high short-seller demand. All data as of April 30 close.
Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (GALT)
Galectin Therapeutics is a biotechnology company that researches and develops drugs to treat fibrotic disease, severe skin disease and cancer. The company’s lead development program involves treating metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) with cirrhosis, which is the most advanced form of MASH-related fibrosis and is the most common liver disease. Galectin bulls believe it is also one of the largest drug development opportunities available today. However, notorious “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli recommended shorting Galectin in December 2024, and he isn’t the only one skeptical about Galectin’s true potential. Galectin’s short interest has grown to 18.4% of its float, or free-trading shares.
TPI Composites Inc. (TPIC)
TPI Composites produces composite wind blades used in the wind energy market. In the past five years, TPI has been a dream stock for short sellers, declining about 94% overall. In fact, after trading near $80 in early 2021, TPIC shares are now barely above 90 cents. Short sellers see more downside ahead. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized wind turbines. To make matters worse, Jefferies downgraded TPI to “underperform” in March 2025, noting the company’s total debt of $742.25 million and consistent net losses. Ortex estimates 23.5% of TPI’s float is held in short positions.
Beyond Meat Inc. (BYND)
Plant-based meat company Beyond Meat has had a disastrous few years. Beyond’s trailing-12-month revenue is down 29.5% overall in the past three years. The stock is also down about 90% in that same period, and short sellers smell blood in the water. Beyond Meat investors were once betting on a growth stock with a massive addressable market, but short sellers see an unprofitable company with lackluster growth in an increasingly competitive industry. Still, Beyond Meat’s short interest is 40.5% of its float, suggesting potential for a major short squeeze at some point.
Ocugen Inc. (OCGN)
Ocugen is a biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes therapies to treat eye diseases. Ocugen is currently testing OCU400 as a potential one-time curative gene therapy for retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Optimism surrounding OCU400 sent Ocugen shares soaring in 2024, and short sellers began drawing comparisons to 2021. Back then, Ocugen demonstrated its short squeeze volatility potential when the stock skyrocketed from around 30 cents to above $12 in a matter of months, driven by the hype of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate Covaxin. The big run didn’t last long. Ortex estimates 24.3% of Ocugen’s float is held in short positions.
Pacific Biosciences of California Inc. (PACB)
Pacific Biosciences develops, manufactures and markets advanced sequencing solutions for genetic analysis. The company’s core technologies include its HiFi read sequencing platform and its Sequencing by Binding technology. While genetic sequencing and gene therapy are certainly exciting topics for investors, Pacific Biosciences has a history of market hype booms and busts. In late 2020 and early 2021 PACB stock ripped from under $4 to above $50. By early 2022, it was back below $10, and as of April 30, it traded at $1.11. Ortex estimates 17% of PACB’s float is held in short positions, suggesting short squeeze potential.
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Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (SPCE)
Virgin Galactic is the commercial space flight company backed by charismatic billionaire founder Richard Branson. Virgin Galactic has been a popular meme stock in the past on Reddit and other social media platforms. Even after a 1-for-20 reverse stock split in 2024, SPCE shares are trading at just $2.89 and are down about 99% from their 2019 Nasdaq debut price of $11.75. Virgin paused commercial space flights for two years starting last June, leading to speculation it may pivot from space tourism altogether. But Ortex estimates 27.4% of SPCE’s float is held in short positions, suggesting a squeeze is possible.
Microvision Inc. (MVIS)
Microvision is developing a lidar sensor for autonomous vehicles and has been a WallStreetBets favorite since early 2021. After trading as high as $28 during the peak of the Reddit trading craze in April 2021, Microvision shares have dropped back down under $2. Skeptics see the company reported just $1.6 million in revenue and a $31 million net loss in the most recent quarter. However, if Microvision could report a surprise profit at some point, it could bamboozle short sellers and potentially trigger a massive short squeeze. The stock’s short interest is up to 23.1% of its float.
FuelCell Energy Inc. (FCEL)
FuelCell Energy develops, designs, produces and services high temperature fuel cells used for clean electric power generation. FuelCell is a fairly typical short seller target. The stock is down about 93% in the past five years and is trading at about $4 even after a 1-for-30 reverse stock split in 2024. FuelCell Energy plans to reduce operating costs by 15% in 2025 and cut its workforce by 13%. After years of minimal revenue growth and large net losses, short sellers are understandably skeptical. But FCEL’s short interest is over 22.1% of its float, suggesting a large short squeeze is possible.
Oatly Group AB (OTLY)
Oatly is the world’s largest oat milk producer. To assess Oatly’s short squeeze potential, look no further than its recent earnings report in February 2025. The company reported a 5.2% drop in revenue and a $91.2 million net loss, falling short of Wall Street’s expectations. The day the report was released, the stock understandably plummeted more than 30% only to rally more than 30% the very next day despite no meaningful additional news. If Oatly can gain 30% for no reason, imagine what it could do following a positive headline. Oatly’s short interest is 10.6% of its float.
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9 Short Squeeze Stocks That Could Take Off originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 05/01/25: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
