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Seek out stocks with high % 'shorts'?

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  1. #1

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    Seek out stocks with high % 'shorts'?

    I have long noticed that some stocks do have a high % of 'stock shorts'. I did not need to go far to find a list
    https://www.highshortinterest.com/

    so now i wonder if i can benefit from this information. Sure, had i bought GME last year, now i'd be rich as Croesus (aka Carlos Slim)!

    But does merely having a high % of short interest have any bearing on the future of the stock price? If i could induce those USA websites to jump on my choices and push those prices up, plz tell me how to do that? But beyond influencing those retail traders mobbing together, what's to learn/know from this info? Is this really valuable information for common folk?

    Ha, almost wrote 'fools', not 'folk'.


  2. #2

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    Having a high short ratio doesn't really matter, for every short there has to be a long lending out the shares. What's more important is to get a million of morons to pump the stock you are invested in. The price won't go up on its own.

    shri, mysti, AsianXpat0 and 1 others like this.

  3. #3

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    If you think 20% is good enough ... HSBC.

    According to AAStocks the current short on it is 29%

    ICBC - 30%

    And if you have real balls, short superman .. 1113 - 25.6%

    (Don't try to game the gamers.... there is a lot of sophisticated buggery going on in my opinion. I'm skeptical about all of this just being a simple herd thing. But then I love a good conspiracy)


  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by mrgoodkat:
    Having a high short ratio doesn't really matter, for every short there has to be a long lending out the shares. What's more important is to get a million of morons to pump the stock you are invested in. The price won't go up on its own.
    I don't think it was a pump and dump, although I could be wrong. There was a definite attempt by a group of people, many of whom understand very clearly what they were doing putting their capital together to squeeze the short. They saw an opportunity and took it.

    All the talk of being "autistic retards" is vulgar and infantile but their way of separating the outsiders from the insiders. Most people in my firm read WSB although we obviously don't take action on it. Maybe we should start.
    shri and mrgoodkat like this.

  5. #5

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    All the talk of being "autistic retards" is vulgar and infantile but their way of separating the outsiders from the insiders.
    I agree. This one went way beyond their usual "tendies"...

  6. #6

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    Short interest in a normally healthy market actually doesn't mean alot.. it can be warrant/derivative market maker borrowing stocks to hedge their position, or index arbitrager going long index and shorting individual stocks to benefit from the small spread, etc.etc.etc... With such large liquidity and so many shares outstanding, these blue chip shorts are just part and parcel of a healthy market...

    Obviously, it does show abit of sentiment, i.e. that market are indeed not bullish on the stocks for them to want to buy puts (which causes the market maker to short the shares)... but not something large enough to try to corner.


  7. #7

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    Original Post Deleted
    When the authorities started talking about banning reddits using this word last night for 'hate speach', there was a very amusing thread started about alternatives, and someone suggested replacing it with 'regards' instead

    As in, "thanks for the work so far guys, Wall Street sends its massive regards"
    shri, tf19 and aw451 like this.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by GentleGeorge:
    When the authorities started talking about banning reddits using this word last night for 'hate speach', there was a very amusing thread started about alternatives, and someone suggested replacing it with 'regards' instead

    As in, "thanks for the work so far guys, Wall Street sends its massive regards"
    Funny how Reddit and Twitter were all for banning "hate speech" they disagreed with 2 weeks ago and allowing private companies to ban users freely. "YoU aRe fReE tO bUiLd YoUr OwN bRoKeR iF yOu DoNt LiKe It"
    aw451 likes this.

  9. #9

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    I really don't know which "authorities" where talking about banning subreddits... can someone point me to an article about this in some main stream media outlet?


  10. #10

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    Since @traineeinvestor seems to be the expert. Could you explain why reddit thinks that driving the price up will make the hedge funds pay? If I'm a hedge fund shorting GME (or any of the other meme stocks) at $20 and Reddit drives the the price to $400, I can just short it again at $400 and use that to close out the earlier short, can't I? Then when the prices drop, like yesterday, I just buy it back and close the $400 short. Now the hedge fund is probably ahead and the Redditors are holding $200 GME stock worth $20. Is there anything preventing that from happening? Even if they keep driving it up the funds can just short at the new price point and close out the older shorts, can't they? The price is fluctuating heavily every day, should be possible to close out a short with some profit.


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