Most Shorted Stocks Today: June 5, 2026 — Top 25 Squeeze Candidates
The most shorted stocks on June 5, 2026 are led by Cemtrex (CETX) with a perfect 100 squeeze score and short interest at 77.1% of float, in a board dominated by heavily shorted small caps and extreme-borrow-fee names like GOVX at 416.8%.
On June 5, 2026, microcap Cemtrex (CETX) tops Tapeboard's most-shorted leaderboard with a perfect squeeze score of 100, driven by short interest equal to 77.1% of its free float and just 2.59 days to cover at $5.42. The broader board skews toward heavily shorted small caps and a few extreme-cost names — GOVX carries a 416.8% annualized borrow fee, while 19 of the top 25 sit on the FINRA threshold list. These are the most active short squeeze candidates on the tape today.
June 5, 2026 Top 25 Short Squeeze Candidates
| Rank | Symbol | Squeeze Score | SI % Float | Borrow Fee | Days to Cover | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CETX | 100 | 77.1% | — | 2.6 | T |
| 2 | OST | 98.7 | 3.5% | — | 1000.0 | |
| 3 | TOPS | 72.1 | 65.5% | 18.9% | 1.0 | T |
| 4 | GRPN | 70.3 | 66.7% | 0.9% | 5.4 | T |
| 5 | GOVX | 55.3 | 13.6% | 416.8% | 1.0 | T |
| 6 | BTDR | 48.9 | 42.7% | 0.4% | 7.1 | |
| 7 | CHWY | 48.8 | 43.5% | 0.4% | 3.1 | T |
| 8 | ELF | 45.8 | 40.6% | 0.4% | 2.7 | T |
| 9 | RH | 45.3 | 39.1% | 0.3% | 6.8 | T |
| 10 | NTLA | 44.8 | 38.6% | 0.4% | 7.7 | T |
| 11 | PLAY | 43.3 | 38.1% | 0.3% | 5.7 | |
| 12 | ASAN | 42.7 | 36.2% | 0.4% | 4.5 | T |
| 13 | RXRX | 42.4 | 35.9% | 0.7% | 13.3 | |
| 14 | AI | 41.2 | 34.6% | 0.4% | 10.2 | T |
| 15 | LCID | 41 | 35.5% | 8.3% | 3.4 | T |
| 16 | CSIQ | 40.5 | 34.7% | 0.8% | 4.4 | T |
| 17 | EVGO | 40.3 | 33.6% | 0.7% | 10.6 | T |
| 18 | IBRX | 40.2 | 33.7% | 2.4% | 10.6 | T |
| 19 | CRMT | 39.5 | 34.7% | 0.4% | 18.3 | T |
| 20 | CLSK | 39.4 | 33.9% | 0.3% | 4.1 | T |
| 21 | UPST | 38.2 | 32.5% | 0.4% | 5.0 | T |
| 22 | NVAX | 37.8 | 32.0% | 0.4% | 6.4 | |
| 23 | PATH | 37.3 | 30.9% | 1.1% | 3.8 | |
| 24 | TWST | 37.2 | 29.9% | 0.3% | 10.4 | T |
| 25 | BEAM | 36.6 | 30.1% | 0.3% | 12.6 | T |
Top 5 Most Shorted Stocks on June 5, 2026
1. CETX — Squeeze Score 100
Cemtrex CETX leads with short interest at 77.1% of float, float utilization of 77.1%, 2.59 days to cover, and 5-day momentum of -40.6% into $5.42. No borrow fee is reported. This is a distressed-microcap setup: nearly the entire float is sold short and price has already collapsed roughly 40% over five sessions. With shorts this concentrated and the name on the threshold list, any forced covering — if borrow availability tightens or daily liquidity thins further — can move price violently on low volume.
2. OST — Squeeze Score 98.7
Ostin Technology OST scores 98.7 on an unusual profile: short interest is only 3.5% of float, yet days to cover reads about 1000, meaning recent average volume is so thin that even a modest short position could not be exited quickly. No borrow fee is reported and the name is not on the threshold list, at a price of $1.695. This is a liquidity-driven score rather than a crowded-short setup; the squeeze mechanic here is volume starvation, not borrow scarcity.
3. TOPS — Squeeze Score 72.1
TOPS TOPS pairs short interest at 65.5% of float with an 18.9% annualized borrow fee and just 1.0 day to cover at $0.95, with positive 5-day momentum of +6.0%. This is a high-SI, elevated-fee penny name already on the threshold list. The combination of an expensive borrow and a heavily shorted float means shorts are paying to stay in; if upward momentum persists, rising carry costs can accelerate covering even without a headline catalyst.
4. GRPN — Squeeze Score 70.3
Groupon GRPN shows short interest at 66.7% of float, a modest 0.9% borrow fee, 5.41 days to cover, and -18.6% 5-day momentum at $16.60. Unlike the penny names above, this is a more liquid mid-cap with a genuinely crowded short — two-thirds of the float is sold short despite a cheap borrow. The setup is SI-driven: a positive catalyst that forces even partial covering against a 5-plus-day cover ratio could squeeze price meaningfully.
5. GOVX — Squeeze Score 55.3
GeoVax GOVX is the highest-fee name on the board, with a 416.8% annualized borrow fee against short interest of 13.6% of float, 1.0 day to cover, and -19.9% 5-day momentum at $1.61. Here the score is borrow-cost-driven: short interest is modest, but the cost to maintain a short is punishing. When a borrow fee runs this hot, shorts bleed carry every day they hold, and even a small upward move can make the position untenable.
Stocks Flagged on the FINRA Threshold List
The "T" flag marks a stock showing sustained heavy short pressure on the FINRA Consolidated NMS daily short-volume file — more than 50% of recent trading volume executed short-side within the last seven trading days. On June 5, 2026, 19 of the top 25 carry the flag, including CETX, TOPS, GRPN, and GOVX. The flag does not by itself predict a squeeze; it confirms the short pressure is current and ongoing rather than a stale settlement-date snapshot. See /methodology/short-squeeze-score for the full breakdown.
How the Tapeboard Squeeze Score Is Built
The squeeze score weights five inputs: 35% short interest as a percentage of float (Yahoo), 25% borrow fee (IBKR via iborrowdesk), 20% float utilization, 15% days to cover, and 5% 5-day price momentum (Schwab). That weighting is why GOVX can rank highly on borrow cost alone with only 13.6% short interest, while CETX tops the board on extreme float utilization and short interest together. Full methodology is at /methodology/short-squeeze-score.
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