Short Squeeze Scan — 2026-10-11
Algolearn.AI October 11, 2026 4 min read 5 views
Squeeze 2026-10-11 · 1 top setup · 3 watchlist · 26 no signal
Automated daily scan of high-short-interest US stocks, scored against a 7-point short-squeeze checklist (the same warning signs that preceded the April 2026 CAR squeeze). Each top setup includes a defined-risk options idea built from live chain data. Not investment advice.
Top setups
HTZ (6/7)
HTZ has the highest short float in the scanned universe at 68.07% (115.9M shares short) with 8.52 days to cover and a borrow rate of 6.74% that has been drifting higher since mid-September with near-zero share availability. Bill Ackman's 19.8% Pershing Square activist stake provides an ongoing structural bullish catalyst, and Q3 2026 earnings on November 5 represent an imminent hard event. Call options expiring November 6 are priced at a 12.6% IV premium over puts (call 25d IV 138.59% vs put 25d IV 121.09%), confirming accumulated bullish positioning ahead of earnings. The stock bounced 23.4% off its September 30 low of $1.67 on 3–4x average volume, establishing $1.92 as a higher base — the only missing criterion is free-float concentration (52% insider lockup vs the >75% threshold).
- [PASS] Short interest > 40% of float: 68.07% short interest as a percentage of float per highshortinterest.com (authoritative); 115.87M shares short against 170.6M free float — highest in the scanned universe
- [PASS] Days to cover > 5: 8.52 days to cover: 115.87M shares short ÷ 13.6M avg daily volume (altindex.com / theonlineinvestor.com)
- [FAIL] Tiny free float with institutions locked up: 170.6M free float; (356.45M outstanding - 170.6M float) ÷ 356.45M = 52.1% locked up — short of the >75% threshold
- [PASS] Rising borrow costs: Borrow rate 6.74% as of late September 2026, rebounding from a 5.0% mid-September low; peak was ~11.5% in mid-August; lending pool availability near zero since mid-July (Ortex)
- [PASS] Near-term catalyst (earnings, FDA, tariff, etc.): Q3 2026 earnings confirmed for November 5, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. ET (Hertz press release / stocktitan.net); Bill Ackman / Pershing Square Capital Management holds a 19.8% activist stake with an ongoing turnaround narrative
- [PASS] Heavy call buying / call skew > put skew: Nov-6-2026 expiry: call 25d IV 138.59% vs put 25d IV 121.09% to call-side skew -12.6% (calls outpricing puts in vol terms); ATM IV 121.09%; Barchart flagged unusual call-option activity; Quiverquant noted traders positioning ahead of earnings with bullish flow
- [PASS] Price momentum turning up despite heavy short interest: Price bounced from $1.67 close (9/30) to $2.07 (10/6) = +23.4% in 5 sessions; Oct 6 volume 42.8M and Oct 7 volume 53.8M vs 13.6M avg (3–4x normal); current $1.92 holds +14.9% above the September 30 low
| Strategy | bull call spread |
|---|---|
| Expiry | 2026-11-13 |
| Legs | long 1x $2.00 call, short 1x $3.00 call |
| Cost | $0.175 debit per spread |
| Max risk / reward | $17.50 per spread / $82.50 per spread · breakeven $2.175 |
Watchlist
| Ticker | Score | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| XPOF | 4/7 | XPOF carries 45.48% short float with a confirmed 9.11 days to cover, and its price has staged a 35.6% recovery from the September 18 low to $4.95 with accelerating volume into a Q3 earnings event on November 4–5. The setup is weakened materially by a borrow rate of only 0.41%, which removes short-covering urgency, and no options chain data was available to confirm bullish positioning. Institutions hold 111.89% of float (Nasdaq data), partly reflecting synthetic longs layered over a 21.9M-share float — structural compression that could amplify a move. Watch for a sustained break above $5.13 (Oct 7 intraday high) on volume above 1.5M as a squeeze trigger. |
| GRPN | 3/7 | GRPN has the second-highest SI% in the universe at 56.5% with 9.5 days to cover and a November 5 earnings catalyst coinciding with HTZ, but the squeeze dynamics are deteriorating: borrow cost fell 43% in one week to 1.34%, the September 21 spike to $22.13 has fully reversed to $18.63, and no unusual call-side activity was detected. The 18.37M free float remains the most compelling structural feature — any renewed catalyst could re-ignite the move, but current momentum and borrow trajectory are both pointed in the wrong direction. |
| RXRX | 3/7 | RXRX's 30.9% price gain over 28 sessions and 10.21 confirmed days to cover are underpinned by genuine pipeline momentum — the Tempus AI deal extension (Oct 5, +15.4%), REC-7735 IND clearance, and a November 2026 Phase 2 TUPELO readout for REC-4881. However, short interest at 34.55% falls below the 40% squeeze threshold, the 518M-share float provides no structural compression, the 0.71% borrow rate gives shorts no cost-based incentive to cover, and options show a mild put skew rather than call premium. Monitor into the November pipeline readout. |
No signal
LCID, KPTI, PLCE, BETR, ONDS, SERV, SOUN, WGS, AI, TE, FLWS, FLNC, CRML, PCT, METC, QUBT, XRX, RUN, UPST, CCCC, SPRY, EOSE, NEGG, BBAI, SLS, FCEL
Generated 2026-10-11 14:58 UTC by the AlgoLearn squeeze scanner. Defined-risk options ideas for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
https://pagerankcafe.com/pressRelease/blog/squeeze-scan-2026-10-11
