Vaxart, Macy’s, Gogo: Will These Stocks See A GameStop Like Short Squeeze?

The GameStop (NYSE:GME) short-squeeze saga has turned the spotlight on small and mid-cap stocks with a high level of short interest. Heavily shorted stocks could be targeted for so-called social trades by retail investors, who look to set off sharp price increases in these names and put pressure on short-sellers, who need to buy shares they sold short in order to close their positions. In our theme on Stocks With High Short Interest, we have picked companies that have a short interest standing at over 20% of the total float, have a market cap of over $1 billion, and a stock price of $15 per share or less, potentially making them of interest to retail traders. Below is a bit more about these companies.

Vaxart (VXRT) is a biotech company that is looking to develop a unique Covid-19 vaccine that can be administered via tablets, eliminating the need for a needle-based injection. Investor interest in the stock has risen in anticipation of its phase 1 data readout, which is likely to happen in the coming days. The stock has roughly doubled year-to-date and short interest stood at about 34% as of Friday.

Macy’s (M), a leading department store chain, was badly impacted by Covid-19. However, the company is looking to streamline its operations to focus on its best performing stores and its growing e-commerce operations, while shutting down stores in many small cities. The stock has gained about 34% year to date, with short interest standing at about 29%.

Sorrento Therapeutics (SRNE), a clinical-stage biotech company that develops treatments for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases has seen its stock rally by about 85% since the beginning of January, partly due to positive data for its experimental STI-2020 antibody therapy with the new Covid-19 variants identified in the U.K. and South Africa. Short interest in the stock stood at about 32%.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO),  a small biotech company that develops synthetic DNA products for treating cancers and infectious diseases. While stock saw a rally in the first half of 2020, it has corrected sharply since, as the company’s Covid-19 candidate lagged behind other players and was not selected for the federal funding for vaccine development. The vaccine is currently in phase 2 clinical trials. However, the stock has done well this year, rising by 44% since early January. Short interest stands at about 34%.

Gogo (GOGO) provides in-flight broadband Internet and other connectivity services. The company has been streamlining its operations, by selling its commercial aviation business in a move that should enable it to strengthen its balance sheet and focus on the business aviation market. The stock is up by about 40% year to date and roughly 44% of the company’s float is currently short.

What if you’re looking for a more balanced portfolio instead? Here’s a high-quality portfolio to beat the market, with over 100% return since 2016, versus 55% for the S&P 500. Comprised of companies with strong revenue growth, healthy profits, lots of cash, and low risk, it has outperformed the broader market year after year, consistently.

See all Trefis Price Estimates and Download Trefis Data here

What’s behind Trefis? See How It’s Powering New Collaboration and What-Ifs For CFOs and Finance Teams | Product, R&D, and Marketing Teams