Short-Interest Change Playbook for Net-Net and Microcap Stocks

"The essence of investment management is the management of risks, not the management of returns." - Benjamin Graham

Read the Short-Interest Data Fast

• Start at the Short-Interest page and sort by the largest absolute percentage changes.
• Open the symbol view to compare trend direction, price action, and recent liquidity conditions.
• If the table appears stale, refresh your short-interest and quote snapshots before decision-making.

Interpret the Signal with Context

• Rising short interest while price falls can indicate distribution and weaker conviction.
• Rising short interest with flat price can signal crowding; confirm with catalyst timing and borrow costs.
• Falling short interest with rising price can indicate covering pressure and improving sentiment.

"You are neither right nor wrong because the crowd disagrees with you." - Benjamin Graham

Action Framework

• Increase with volume surge: verify borrow availability and thesis quality before adding exposure.
• Increase without volume support: treat it as unconfirmed; wait for repeated signals.
• Decrease with price strength: identify whether it is a temporary squeeze or a true thesis rerate.
• Tiny float names: use smaller size because small borrow shifts can cause large price moves.

Pair with Other Site Signals

• Cross-check Share-Changes; higher shorts plus new issuance is usually negative.
• Confirm with Interesting-Volume; short-interest spikes are stronger when turnover is elevated.
• Review Near-Lows to decide whether the setup is capitulation recovery or ongoing impairment.

Process discipline

• Log each decision with date, short percent of float, liquidity, and thesis status.
• Refresh around earnings, financing announcements, and major filing updates.
• Keep explicit exit rules if both price and short-interest trends move against the thesis.

Compliance note

Educational only. Validate data quality, borrow terms, and execution liquidity before trading.