Most Shorted Stocks Today: August 17, 2026 — Top 25 Squeeze Candidates
Beyond Meat (BYND) tops the August 17, 2026 most-shorted list with a 73.2 squeeze score, 25.6% short interest, and a 64.4% borrow fee, while the broader leaderboard shows a mix of high-fee small-caps and threshold-flagged momentum names.
August 17, 2026 Most Shorted Stocks: Leaderboard Overview
On August 17, 2026, Beyond Meat (BYND) leads the most-shorted stocks board with a 73.2 squeeze score, 25.6% of float sold short, and a punishing 64.4% borrow fee. The broader tape is split between high-fee, tight-float names like BYND and RUM, and threshold-flagged momentum plays such as SES and KOD, with only a handful of large-caps appearing due to elevated days to cover rather than extreme short interest.
August 17, 2026 Top 25 Short Squeeze Candidates
| Rank | Symbol | Squeeze Score | SI % Float | Borrow Fee | Days to Cover | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | BYND | 73.2 | 25.6% | 64.4% | 4.7 | T |
| 6 | LU | 49.6 | 1.7% | — | 7.6 | T |
| 9 | WB | 43.7 | 19.6% | 1.0% | 21.1 | T |
| 10 | RNA | 43.2 | 22.4% | 0.6% | 28.4 | T |
| 11 | KROS | 43.2 | 5.5% | — | 5.9 | T |
| 12 | SVRA | 42.7 | 28.3% | 0.4% | 20.1 | T |
| 13 | CYDY | 42.3 | 2.7% | — | 9.9 | |
| 14 | ZG | 41.7 | 1.9% | — | 3.0 | T |
| 15 | AEM | 41.7 | 0.9% | — | 1.7 | T |
| 16 | NRDY | 40.9 | 5.9% | 8.9% | 12.0 | T |
| 17 | TROW | 40.7 | 12.1% | 0.3% | 12.4 | T |
| 18 | KOD | 40.2 | 26.0% | 0.4% | 20.6 | T |
| 19 | JKS | 39.7 | 9.4% | 0.4% | 4.5 | T |
| 20 | CRMD | 39.5 | 24.7% | 0.6% | 17.1 | T |
| 21 | PRTH | 39.3 | 6.3% | — | 7.4 | T |
| 23 | SES | 39.2 | 15.5% | — | 2.1 | T |
| 24 | MIRM | 39.1 | 13.0% | 0.4% | 12.1 | T |
| 25 | AON | 39.1 | 2.3% | — | 3.1 | T |
| 26 | GMAB | 38.7 | 1.2% | 0.9% | 4.6 | T |
| 27 | GME | 38.7 | 13.1% | 0.4% | 17.1 | T |
| 28 | PCRX | 38.6 | 21.4% | 0.4% | 13.4 | T |
| 29 | HSDT | 38.6 | 2.9% | — | 10.5 | T |
| 30 | DDOG | 38.5 | 3.5% | — | 3.0 | T |
| 34 | TRIP | 38.2 | 25.5% | 0.4% | 11.7 | T |
| 35 | RUM | 38.2 | 23.7% | 5.3% | 12.9 | T |
Top 5 Names on the August 17, 2026 Short Squeeze Board
2. BYND — Squeeze Score 73.2
BYND sits alone at the top with a 73.2 squeeze score. The setup is a classic high-fee tight-float squeeze: 25.6% of float is short, the borrow fee is a staggering 64.4%, and float utilization sits at 26.1%. The stock has fallen 25.4% over five days to $11.66, which likely pushed more shorts in at the lows. A squeeze here is mechanically simple: if borrow availability tightens further or any positive catalyst forces covering, the 4.7 days to cover compresses rapidly given the expensive fee.
6. LU — Squeeze Score 49.6
LU ranks second with a 49.6 score, but the profile is different — it's a threshold-flagged name with 7.6 days to cover and only 1.7% of float short. The days to cover figure is elevated relative to the modest short position, suggesting thin average volume. No borrow fee data is available for LU, which typically means the stock is easy to borrow. The squeeze case here is less about fee pressure and more about a sudden volume spike forcing the 7.6-day cover cycle to accelerate, especially with the FINRA threshold flag active.
9. WB — Squeeze Score 43.7
WB shows 19.6% short interest and the longest days to cover in the top five at 21.1 days. The borrow fee is a modest 1.0%, so shorts aren't paying a penalty to hold. The stock is down 5.3% over five days to $7.58. The squeeze potential here is slow-burn: with 21 days to cover, any sustained buying pressure over multiple sessions would force shorts to chase, but the low fee means there's no urgency to close early. A move above recent volume levels would be the mechanical trigger.
10. RNA — Squeeze Score 43.2
RNA combines 22.4% short interest with a 28.4-day days-to-cover figure — the highest in the top 10. The borrow fee is minimal at 0.6%, and the stock is up 5.9% over five days to $12.96, suggesting some early covering may already be underway. The setup is a high-SI, low-fee grind: shorts are entrenched but not paying much to stay. The catalyst for a squeeze would be a continuation of the positive momentum — each up-day makes the 28-day cover timeline more painful, potentially forcing accelerated buying.
11. KROS — Squeeze Score 43.2
KROS ties RNA at 43.2 but with a different structure: only 5.5% short interest, 5.9 days to cover, and no reported borrow fee. This is a threshold-flagged name where the short side is small but active enough to trip FINRA's 50% short-volume threshold. The squeeze case is event-driven — with low float utilization at 5.5%, there's plenty of room for shorts to add, but the flag suggests recent heavy short volume. If buying volume accelerates, the 5.9-day cover window is short enough to create a sharp move.
Stocks Flagged on the FINRA Threshold List
The T column marks symbols on the FINRA threshold list as of August 17, 2026. A T flag means the stock showed sustained heavy short pressure on FINRA's daily short-volume file — specifically, more than 50% of recent consolidated volume was short-side within the last seven trading days. This is a regulatory signal that short sellers are unusually dominant in the tape, which often precedes either a continued decline or a violent short squeeze if sentiment flips. See the full scoring breakdown at our methodology page.
How the Squeeze Score Is Built
The Tapeboard squeeze score weights five inputs: 35% short interest as a fraction of float (FINRA), 25% borrow fee (IBKR), 20% float utilization, 15% days to cover, and 5% five-day price momentum (Schwab). The score is normalized 0–100, with higher values indicating a higher probability of a near-term squeeze based on the combination of cost to borrow, cover urgency, and positioning. All underlying data is sourced exclusively from FINRA, IBKR, Schwab, and SEC filings — no other providers are used. For the complete formula and threshold logic, visit our methodology page.
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