In 2021, groups of traders on Reddit and other social media platforms made short squeezes a hot topic on Wall Street by orchestrating targeted buying campaigns that temporarily sent the share prices of heavily shorted stocks such as GameStop Corp. (ticker: GME) and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC) soaring.
[Sign up for stock news with our Invested newsletter.]
Short squeezes occur when a stock’s price rises enough to force short sellers to buy the stock en masse to close out their positions. Short squeezes typically don’t last long, but they can be extremely profitable for opportunistic traders. Here are nine potential short squeeze stocks to watch in 2026, according to Ortex Analytics:
| Stock | Short interest | Cost to borrow |
| Rumble Inc. (RUM) | 26.2% | 22.5% |
| Lucky Strike Entertainment Corp. (LUCK) | 17.5% | 23.9% |
| EverCommerce Inc. (EVCM) | 13.4% | 30.4% |
| PureCycle Technologies Inc. (PCT) | 36.3% | 11.8% |
| indie Semiconductor Inc. (INDI) | 31.2% | 8.6% |
| SELLAS Life Sciences Group Inc. (SLS) | 32.2% | 14.5% |
| Netlist Inc. (NLST) | 10.4% | 16.2% |
| Polestar Automotive Holding UK PLC (PSNY) | 6.5% | 48.2% |
| ARS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SPRY) | 63.6% | 2.3% |
Rumble Inc. (RUM)
Rumble is a politically conservative streaming video platform that emphasizes a commitment to free speech and is a competitor to YouTube. Since the company went public in 2022, it has exhibited the type of extreme volatility that can lead to large short squeezes. In roughly six weeks from mid-November 2024 to late December 2024, the election victory of President Donald Trump spiked Rumble’s share price from under $6 to over $15. In 2026, Rumble is embracing decentralized artificial intelligence via its OpenClaw Starter Package for Rumble Cloud. Rumble’s short interest has grown to 26% of its float, or free-trading shares.
Lucky Strike Entertainment Corp. (LUCK)
Lucky Strike Entertainment operates bowling centers that typically include lounge seating, arcades, and food and beverage services. In addition to casual public bowling, these centers host amateur and professional bowling tournaments and events. Short sellers likely see negative analyst commentary, stagnant same-store sales and recent earnings misses as signs Lucky Strike is dead in the water. The $1 billion company also carries $3.2 billion in debt, another troubling indicator. However, a surprise earnings beat or turnaround in foot traffic could trigger a major short squeeze. Ortex estimates more than 17% of LUCK’s float is held in short positions.
EverCommerce Inc. (EVCM)
EverCommerce operates a service commerce platform that provides vertically tailored, software-as-a-service solutions such as EverHealth, EverPro and EverWell to small- and medium-sized businesses in the health, home and wellness industries. The company’s tools help streamline business management, marketing technology, customer engagement and other processes. In addition to profitability pressures and slowing growth, the company is dealing with the overhang from class action lawsuits related to recent company missteps. Legal troubles can set a stock up for a huge bounce if cases are dismissed or the outcomes are better or cheaper than expected. EverCommerce’s short interest is just over 13% of its float.
PureCycle Technologies Inc. (PCT)
PureCycle Technologies recycles waste polypropylene into virgin polymer with the goal of making plastic a renewable resource. PureCycle went public via a SPAC merger in 2021. At the time of the merger, the stock was trading at around $32 per share, but it has dropped to below $10 per share today. Short sellers are likely betting against PureCycle because of its lackluster fundamental performance and its price-to-sales ratio of around 160. PureCycle reported just $8.4 million in revenue in 2025 and generated a $182.6 million net loss. PureCycle’s short interest is more than 36% of its float.
[Read: 7 Growth Stocks That Also Pay Dividends]
indie Semiconductor Inc. (INDI)
indie Semiconductor is an auto technology company that provides software and semiconductor solutions for driver automation, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), electrification and other applications. The company has direct partnerships with automakers such as Mercedes-Benz and BYD. Auto suppliers also use indie’s systems-on-chips (SoCs) for LiDAR, radar and ultrasound modules. However, U.S. autonomous vehicle leader Waymo famously uses its own internally developed LiDAR and sensor hardware. Despite huge upside for AV technology, indie reports consistent net losses and its revenue growth has stagnated. Ortex estimates around 31% of INDI’s float is held in short positions, suggesting short squeeze potential.
SELLAS Life Sciences Group Inc. (SLS)
SELLAS Life Sciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that is developing immunotherapeutic treatments for various cancers. The company’s leading drug candidates include Galinpepimut-S (GPS) and SLS009 for treating Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). SELLAS’s share price is down about 37% overall in the past five years, but the stock demonstrated its short squeeze potential in December 2025. SLS stock rallied from less than $1.50 to around $5 in about a month, fueled largely by positive GPS trial data. Ortex estimates about 32% of SLS’s float is held in short positions, suggesting another squeeze is possible if SELLAS reports more encouraging data.
Netlist Inc. (NLST)
Netlist designs and sells memory subsystems used in the communications and computing markets. Its leading products include enterprise-grade solid-state drives (SSDs) designed for data centers and high-performance computing, as well as its hybrid memory flash technology. Despite a large uptick in revenue growth to finish out 2025, Netlist is still reporting consistent net losses. But while the company’s core business has delivered mixed results, the stock could experience a major short squeeze if Netlist maintains its legal momentum following recent patent dispute victories over Samsung Electronics Ltd. (5930.KS) and Micron Technology Inc. (MU). The stock’s short interest is up to more than 10% of its float.
Polestar Automotive Holding UK PLC (PSNY)
Polestar Automotive designs and manufactures battery-electric vehicles. In addition to the company’s core Polestar 2 high-volume electric performance fastback model, Polestar’s product lineup includes the Polestar 3 luxury SUV, Polestar 4 SUV coupe and Polestar 5 high-performance four-door GT. In the past five years, Polestar has been a short seller’s dream. Deep net losses, consistent dilution, rising debt and a reverse stock split have driven the stock down about 93% in that time. American drivers are also increasingly turning to hybrid vehicles rather than pure EVs. Still, Polestar’s short interest is 6% of its float, giving it short squeeze potential. The cost to borrow is currently more than 48%, indicating high short-seller demand.
ARS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SPRY)
ARS Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing neffy, the first non-injectable nasal spray to treat anaphylaxis and other emergency Type I allergic reactions. Neffy was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2024, and ARS has shifted its priorities to global expansion and additional indications and combinations for neffy. ARS has made steady progress with neffy, including gaining FDA approval to remove its age requirement in March 2026 and approval for commercial launch in Canada in April 2026. However, winning over legacy EpiPen users could be difficult. However, ARS’s short interest is 63% of its float, the highest on this list.
More from U.S. News
7 Best Semiconductor ETFs to Buy for 2026
8 Best Cheap Stocks to Buy Under $10
9 Short Squeeze Stocks That Could Take Off originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 05/07/26: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
