Top Short-Squeeze Candidates Today: August 17, 2026 — 7-Factor Leaderboard
BYND tops the August 17, 2026 7-factor squeeze leaderboard with a 73.2 score, driven by extreme borrow fees and heavy short interest, as high-fee names dominate the top ranks.
TL;DR: As of market close on August 17, 2026, BYND leads Tapeboard's 7-factor squeeze leaderboard with a score of 73.2/100, driven by 25.6% short interest and a 64.4% annualized borrow fee.
Tapeboard's daily squeeze scan ranked 25 stocks by composite score on August 17, 2026, combining seven factors: short interest as a percentage of float, annualized borrow fee, float utilization, the FINRA Consolidated NMS short-volume ratio, days to cover, five-day price momentum, and week-over-week borrow-fee change — each z-scored against a live ~500-stock universe. The dominant pattern is a concentration of high-fee, high-short-interest biotech and media names, with 8 of the top 10 carrying a FINRA threshold flag.
Today's August 17, 2026 Squeeze Score Leaderboard
| Rank | Symbol | Squeeze Score | SI % Float | Borrow Fee | Days to Cover | Mom 5d | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BYND | 73.2 | 25.6% | 64.4% | 4.7 | -25.4% | T |
| 2 | LU | 49.6 | 1.7% | — | 7.6 | — | T |
| 3 | WB | 43.7 | 19.6% | 1.0% | 21.1 | -5.3% | T |
| 4 | RNA | 43.2 | 22.4% | 0.6% | 28.4 | +5.9% | T |
| 5 | KROS | 43.2 | 5.5% | — | 5.9 | — | T |
| 6 | SVRA | 42.7 | 28.3% | 0.4% | 20.1 | -6.3% | T |
| 7 | CYDY | 42.3 | 2.7% | — | 9.9 | — | |
| 8 | ZG | 41.7 | 1.9% | — | 3.0 | — | T |
| 9 | AEM | 41.7 | 0.9% | — | 1.7 | — | T |
| 10 | NRDY | 40.9 | 5.9% | 8.9% | 12.0 | — | T |
| 11 | TROW | 40.7 | 12.1% | 0.3% | 12.4 | -2.9% | T |
| 12 | KOD | 40.2 | 26.0% | 0.4% | 20.6 | -5.6% | T |
| 13 | JKS | 39.7 | 9.4% | 0.4% | 4.5 | — | T |
| 14 | CRMD | 39.5 | 24.7% | 0.6% | 17.1 | +1.9% | T |
| 15 | PRTH | 39.3 | 6.3% | — | 7.4 | — | T |
*Source: Tapeboard composite squeeze model, August 17, 2026. Seven factors z-scored vs a ~500-stock universe. Short interest per FINRA settlement schedule; borrow fees from IBKR stock-loan availability; short-volume from FINRA Consolidated NMS. Not investment advice.*
What Drove Today's Rankings
The top 10 are dominated by names with elevated short interest and high days-to-cover, but the standout outlier is BYND, whose 64.4% borrow fee and 25.6% short interest overwhelm its negative 5-day momentum to produce a score more than 23 points above the next name. LU and AEM break the pattern at ranks 2 and 9 with sub-2% short interest and no borrow fee data, carried by their threshold status and days-to-cover reweighting. The composite weights short interest and borrow fee most heavily, which explains why high-fee, high-SI names like BYND and WB cluster at the top.
Top 5 Names
1. BYND — Squeeze Score 73.2/100
BYND's primary driver is its 64.4% annualized borrow fee, the highest in the top 15, paired with 25.6% short interest. The stock is on the FINRA threshold list, confirming heavy short-volume pressure, though its 5-day momentum of -25.4% shows recent downside. Days to cover sits at 4.7, indicating shorts could cover relatively quickly if volume dries up.
2. LU — Squeeze Score 49.6/100
LU's score is driven by a 7.6 days-to-cover figure and its FINRA threshold flag, despite short interest of only 1.7% and no borrow fee data. With a price of $1.48, the stock's low float utilization likely reweighted the missing fee component across remaining factors. Momentum data is null, so the score leans entirely on the structural components.
3. WB — Squeeze Score 43.7/100
WB combines 19.6% short interest with a 21.1 days-to-cover, one of the highest in the leaderboard, making it a slow-burn squeeze candidate. Its borrow fee is a modest 1.0%, and the fee fell 0.1 percentage points over the last five days. The stock is threshold-listed, and its 5-day momentum of -5.3% reflects mild selling pressure.
4. RNA — Squeeze Score 43.2/100
RNA's primary signal is its 28.4 days-to-cover, the highest in the top 5, paired with 22.4% short interest. The borrow fee is low at 0.6% and declined 0.8 points over five days, but the stock is threshold-listed. Positive 5-day momentum of +5.9% adds a contrarian bid, suggesting shorts may be under pressure.
5. KROS — Squeeze Score 43.2/100
KROS scores high despite only 5.5% short interest, with no borrow fee or momentum data available, so the composite reweighted across remaining factors. Its 5.9 days-to-cover is moderate, but the FINRA threshold flag is the key secondary signal. The stock trades at $10.48, and its score ties RNA at 43.2, separated by rank on the threshold component.
Factor Breakdown: How the Score Is Built
The Tapeboard composite squeeze score is a weighted z-score of five core factors: 35% short interest as a percentage of float (FINRA), 25% annualized borrow fee (IBKR), 20% float utilization, 15% days to cover, and 5% five-day price momentum (Schwab). Each factor is normalized against a live ~500-stock universe, and missing values are reweighted across the remaining components. Data sources are limited to FINRA, IBKR, Schwab, SEC, and the NYSE/NASDAQ exchanges. See the methodology for the full calculation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the top short-squeeze candidates today?
BYND leads with a 73.2 composite score, 25.6% short interest, and a 64.4% borrow fee. LU follows at 49.6 with 1.7% short interest and no fee data, while WB ranks third at 43.7 with 19.6% short interest and a 1.0% fee. All three are FINRA threshold-listed.
How does Tapeboard calculate its squeeze score?
The score z-scores each of seven factors against a ~500-stock universe, then weights them: 35% short interest, 25% borrow fee, 20% float utilization, 15% days to cover, and 5% five-day momentum. The composite is scaled to 0-100, with higher values indicating higher squeeze potential. Missing factors are reweighted proportionally.
When does short-interest data update?
Short interest data is published on a ~2-week lag per the FINRA settlement schedule, so the values in this report reflect positions as of early August 2026. Borrow fees update on a next-day basis from IBKR stock-loan availability, while the threshold list and price data are daily.
Data and Methodology
- Squeeze score: Tapeboard composite, recomputed nightly.
- Short interest: FINRA, ~2-week settlement lag.
- Borrow fee: IBKR stock-loan availability, daily.
- Short-volume threshold: FINRA Consolidated NMS, daily.
- Momentum: Schwab, end-of-day.
See today's highest borrow fees for the full hard-to-borrow ranking, or the live squeeze leaderboard for tomorrow's update.
This post is for educational and informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Short selling carries unlimited downside risk. A quantitative composite does not predict price, and past squeezes are not indicative of future moves. Editor: Marcus Reilly.