Top Nasdaq Short-Squeeze Plays
Updated from 8:36 a.m. EDT
The past month or so has seen a significant increase in the number of
Nasdaq
stocks with high short ratios, creating some interesting short-squeeze opportunities.
A short squeeze takes place when a stock's short-sellers scramble to cover their positions on good news, driving the price of the stock up sharply. The metric for measuring short-squeeze plays is the short ratio, which represents the number of days it would take a stock's short-sellers to cover their positions, based on recent volume.
Stockpickr has come up with a list of the
Top Nasdaq Short-Squeeze Plays for May
.
One Nasdaq stock with a high short ratio is
Steiner Leisure
(STNR)
, a provider of spa services to cruise ship and resort customers, which has a short ratio of 33.9. This provider of massages, aromatherapy treatments, seaweed wraps and Pilates recently reported a 10.5% increase in quarterly revenue but a 1-cent drop in quarterly earnings per share. The stock has a P/E of 14 and a PEG of 1.2.
Steiner is part of the Stockpickr portfolio
, which features stocks with a high return on invested capital, no debt and a low price-to-sales ratio. Other stocks in the portfolio include
Natco Group
(NTG) - Get Report
, which has a short ratio of 6.5;
Aaon
(AAON) - Get Report
, with a short ratio of 27; and
American Eagle Outfitters
(AEO) - Get Report
, with a 2.5 ratio.
Another high short-ratio Nasdaq stock is
Sinclair Broadcast Group
(SBGI) - Get Report
, a television broadcasting company, which has a short ratio of 33.1. The company just announced that it had quarterly earnings of 19 cents per share, compared with a loss of 3 cents per share for the same quarter a year ago. Revenue increased by 13% for the quarter. The stock has a P/E of 20 and a PEG of 1.47. The yield is 8.6%.
Sinclair is part of the Stockpickr portfolio
Barron's Interview Hedge Fund Manager Steve Tananbaum
, which includes the holdings of Tananbaum's company, GoldenTree Asset Management. Other stocks that GoldenTree owns include
Time Warner
(TWX)
, with a 2.1 short ratio;
Liberty Global
(LBTYA) - Get Report
, with a short ratio of 8.2; and
MGM Mirage
(MGM) - Get Report
, with a 5.1 ratio.
MGE Energy
(MGEE) - Get Report
, another Nasdaq stock with a high short ratio, is a public utility based in Madison, Wis. It has a short ratio of 32.5. The company recently reported its first-quarter financials, with a 16.5% increase in earnings compared with the first quarter of 2007. Revenue was up 12.9%. The stock has a P/E of 15 and a yield of 4.1%.
MGE is in the Stockpickr portfolio
Top Dividend Raisers with Lowest P/Es
. It also lists
Cincinnati Financial
(CINF) - Get Report
, at a 3.2 short ratio,
State Auto Financial
(STFC) - Get Report
, with a 18.4 ratio, and
ParkerHannifin
(PH) - Get Report
, with a 3.8 ratio.
For more Nasdaq short-squeeze opportunities, check out the
Top Nasdaq Short-Squeeze Plays for May
portfolio at Stockpickr.com.
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