Most Shorted Stocks Today: May 22, 2026 — Top 25 Squeeze Candidates
Groupon (GRPN) leads Tapeboard's most-shorted leaderboard on May 22, 2026 with a maximum squeeze score of 100 and 59.2% short interest, in a session dominated by FINRA-threshold names and a handful of triple-digit borrow-fee outliers.
Groupon (GRPN) tops Tapeboard's most-shorted leaderboard on May 22, 2026, posting a maximum squeeze score of 100 on 59.2% short interest as a fraction of float and 6.65 days to cover. The day's broader pattern is bifurcated: GOVX, KITT, GETY, ABCL, and LCID carry double- or triple-digit borrow fee rates, while the rest of the top 25 leans on heavy float utilization and a FINRA threshold flag rather than borrow-cost stress. Twenty-three of the twenty-five candidates today carry the threshold mark.
May 22, 2026 Top 25 Short Squeeze Candidates
| Rank | Symbol | Squeeze Score | SI % Float | Borrow Fee | Days to Cover | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GRPN | 100 | 59.2% | 0.9% | 6.65 | T |
| 2 | GOVX | 81.6 | 8.8% | 152.5% | 2.55 | T |
| 4 | NVAX | 71.4 | 30.3% | 0.4% | 15.57 | T |
| 5 | AI | 70.7 | 35.2% | 0.4% | 10.20 | |
| 6 | IBRX | 70.0 | 35.6% | 2.6% | 9.31 | T |
| 7 | NTLA | 69.1 | 39.3% | 0.5% | 6.78 | T |
| 8 | INDI | 67.1 | 29.4% | 2.8% | 13.36 | T |
| 9 | LCID | 65.6 | 35.8% | 9.3% | 3.04 | T |
| 10 | ARCT | 64.0 | 28.2% | 0.5% | 15.48 | T |
| 11 | PCRX | 63.7 | 28.6% | 0.4% | 14.90 | T |
| 12 | KITT | 61.4 | 39.1% | 24.0% | 1.44 | T |
| 13 | IOVA | 59.9 | 27.5% | 0.4% | 8.07 | |
| 14 | ASAN | 59.4 | 30.9% | 0.4% | 4.50 | T |
| 15 | KOD | 57.4 | 26.0% | 0.4% | 9.96 | T |
| 16 | H | 57.0 | 34.7% | 0.5% | 7.00 | T |
| 17 | MDGL | 56.7 | 19.7% | 0.3% | 13.25 | T |
| 18 | PATH | 55.9 | 28.5% | 0.3% | 5.16 | T |
| 19 | KSS | 54.8 | 27.5% | 0.4% | 6.27 | T |
| 20 | MARA | 54.7 | 30.1% | 0.5% | 2.23 | T |
| 21 | GETY | 54.3 | 17.5% | 13.8% | 17.68 | T |
| 22 | OCGN | 52.5 | 20.7% | 0.9% | 11.76 | T |
| 23 | ABCL | 52.3 | 18.9% | 10.3% | 8.75 | T |
| 25 | AISP | 52.1 | 19.5% | 7.2% | 9.97 | T |
| 26 | LYFT | 51.3 | 22.5% | 0.3% | 6.67 | T |
| 27 | NRDY | 50.5 | 12.7% | 5.5% | 19.69 | T |
Top 5 Short Squeeze Setups on May 22, 2026
1. GRPN — Squeeze Score 100
GRPN is the cleanest setup on the board: 59.2% short interest as a fraction of float, 57.1% float utilization, 6.65 days to cover, and a FINRA threshold flag. The borrow fee is only 0.90% — shorts aren't being squeezed on cost — but they're paying with crowding, and the stock is up 8.4% over five sessions at $18.84. With more than half the free float already on loan, the mechanical trigger is borrow availability: any pullback in lendable inventory at IBKR forces buy-ins rather than voluntary covers.
2. GOVX — Squeeze Score 81.6
GOVX is the borrow-cost outlier of the day at 152.5% annualized — by far the most expensive short on the leaderboard. Short interest is a modest 8.8% of float and days to cover is just 2.55, so this is a cost-of-carry setup rather than a crowding setup. The stock printed +195.9% five-day momentum at $3.54 and sits on the threshold list. At that fee rate, shorts bleed roughly 0.4% per day in financing; any sustained drift higher forces capitulation purely on the math.
4. NVAX — Squeeze Score 71.4
NVAX carries 30.3% short interest, 35.0% float utilization, and a striking 15.57 days to cover at a benign 0.45% borrow fee. The setup is classic overhang: shorts can afford to sit, but covering at recent average volume would take more than three weeks. Price is $9.19, up 1.7% over five days, threshold flagged. A clean catalyst would compress that DTC quickly because there isn't enough daily liquidity for an orderly exit at scale.
5. AI — Squeeze Score 70.7
AI (C3.ai) is the lone non-threshold name in the top six. Short interest is 35.2% of float, float utilization is 34.5%, days to cover is 10.20, and the borrow fee is just 0.44%. Five-day momentum is +7.4% at $9.20. This is a crowding-plus-DTC story: the borrow desk is relaxed, but covering 35% of float against ten days of average volume tends to pull bids upward in steps rather than in a line.
6. IBRX — Squeeze Score 70.0
IBRX shows 35.6% short interest, 35.0% float utilization, 9.31 days to cover, and a 2.64% borrow fee — the highest fee among the top 10 names with broadly crowded short books. Momentum is −9.4% over five sessions at $7.21 with the threshold flag. The mechanical short squeeze trigger here is the fee curve: 2.6% is annoying, not punitive, but IBKR rates have historically stepped sharply once utilization clears 90%, so a small drop in lendable supply could rapidly steepen the carry.
Stocks Flagged on the FINRA Threshold List
The "T" column marks symbols on the FINRA Consolidated NMS daily short-volume threshold — meaning short-side executions exceeded 50% of total reported volume on at least one of the last seven trading days. It is a sustained-pressure signal, not a one-day spike. Twenty-three of today's top 25 carry the T, including every name in the top 12 except AI. Full threshold logic is documented at /methodology/short-squeeze-score.
How the Tapeboard Squeeze Score Is Built
The score is a weighted composite normalized to 0–100: 35% short interest as a fraction of float (Yahoo Finance), 25% borrow fee from IBKR via iborrowdesk, 20% float utilization, 15% days to cover, and 5% five-day price momentum from Schwab. Inputs refresh daily on the U.S. cash-equity close. See /methodology/short-squeeze-score for the formula and full source cadence.
Tomorrow's update refreshes at the next U.S. cash-equity open on the live leaderboard.