TECH - 3 High Short Interest Stocks Ready to Squeeze | Benzinga
Nothing strikes more fear in the hearts of stock market bears than two simple words: short squeeze. Like a tsunami, a short squeeze can wreak havoc on unexpectant bears as they frantically rush to cover short positions, inadvertently driving prices even higher in the process. The parabolic surge is the stuff of dreams for bulls as they see account values spike with joy. Meme stocks thrived on short squeezes in 2021.
The formula for a short squeeze includes a high short interest, a small float and a surprise catalyst or two. Here are 3 stocks with the potential for the proverbial spark in a kerosene-soaked warehouse-like short squeeze to trigger.
Symbotic
Symbotic Inc. (NASDAQ: SYM) is a robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) company specializing in warehouse automation. The business services sector company designs and constructs automated warehouse robot systems to enhance efficiency and productivity. It embodies three secular tailwinds: AI, automation and Internet-of-Things (IoT). It counts retail giants Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Target Co. (NYSE: TGT) and Albertsons Cos. (NYSE: ACI) as some of its largest customers.
Walmart took an 11% stake in the company and has integrated Symbiotic into all its 42 regional distribution centers. The company has plans to offer warehouse-as-a-service (WaaS) through a joint venture, GreenBox Systems, with major investor SoftBank. While SYM has a large 356 million share float, it has a high short interest of 27.13%.
Surging Growth
Symbotic reported a fiscal Q1 2024 GAAP EPS loss of 2 cents, missing 2 cents profit consensus estimates. Revenues surged 78.6% YoY to $368.45 million, slightly missing consensus estimates of $368.84 million. The company provided flat in-line guidance for fiscal Q2 2024 for $400 million to $420 million versus $402.34 million consensus estimates.
Symbotic CEO Rick Cohen was upbeat and commented, ""Fiscal year 2024 is off to a solid start with ...