The Top Big Board Short-Squeeze Plays

Updated from 7:09 a.m. EDT

With many market pundits declaring a market bottom, it may prove profitable to take a look at heavily shorted stocks that have the potential to soar on positive news.

A short squeeze occurs when positive news sends short-sellers, or those betting against the stock, to scramble to cover their bearish positions. This short-covering, or buying, causes the stock to spike even higher.

The primary metric for the short squeeze is the short ratio, which represents the number of days it would take a stock's short-sellers to cover their short positions, based on the stock's average daily trading volume. ...