Short interest figures for Nasdaq stocks can be attained at ViWes InvestInfo . Also, every month the Wall Street Journal and Investors Business Daily publish short interest figures for Nasdaq and NYSE issues. Online message board participants talk a lot about potential short squeezes. A squeeze may be seen as a way for a beaten down stock to find new life or for short-sellers to get what they deserve. Since the main way for a company to shake the shorts is to produce great sales and earnings, it's almost always a red flag when management starts attacking short-sellers or spending more than two seconds worrying about them.
Short squeezes are a mixed blessing for long investors.
On the one hand, they can quickly send a stock soaring to unbelievable prices that otherwise might not be attained for years, if ever. Investors who keep their heads may find this an excellent opportunity to cash out. Yet those who get caught up in the frenzy can end up worse off. The rally was fueled by massive short covering, momentum players, and huge demand from online investors so captivated by the story that they margined their accounts to buy more shares. After Iomega increased the float by issuing shares in a follow-on stock offering, the squeeze subsided.