days to cover squeeze long
What it checks
When a stock would need 10+ days of average trading volume just for the shorts to cover their positions, and the price is starting to reverse upward, you have a squeeze setup. Go long for 1-4 weeks.
Mechanism
When days-to-cover (short interest / average daily volume) exceeds ~10, a Reg-SHO-style squeeze becomes mechanically viable — shorts cannot exit without sustained buying pressure. Combined with a price-reversal cue (price > 5 sessions ago AND > 20-day MA), the LONG side captures the cover-driven move up.
Signal rule
sqrt(21d-sum(short_pct) * 21) >= 5/10 AND close > close.shift(5) AND close > MA20 (T+1) -> LONG for 5/10/20 trading days.
Data dependencies
daily_pricesAdjusted-close OHLCV for every US-listed ticker; primary price feed.
finra_short_volumeWorker data table — see services/worker schema.
Expected edge
- Paper alpha
- 100-300 bps over 5-20d
- Paper window
- T+1 to T+20d
100-300 bps over 5-20d on confirmed-reversal high-DTC squeezes.
Example tickers where this is likely to fire
Illustrative only — the signal fires based on the live data, not a fixed list.
Related families
short squeeze metaMetaCombines existing borrow_ftd_squeeze, borrow_rate_spike, ftd_threshold_list into a short-squeeze readiness index that also requires positive attention shock (Wikipedia or social).
borrow rate spikeMicrostructureWhen the cost to borrow a stock spikes, it signals either (a) shorts have HIGH conviction despite paying premium — bearish continuation — or (b) utilization is hitting recall risk — bullish squeeze setup. Two readings: Z-SCORE BREAKOUT (borrow fee z > +2 vs 60d baseline → short the stock) and SQUEEZE TRIGGER (borrow fee at extreme AND price reverses up → long the squeeze). Sourced from `stock_borrow_rates` (iborrowdesk daily, ~1y depth).
ftd concentrated squeeze longMicrostructureWhen daily FTD value z-score >= 2.5 sigma over a 60d baseline AND the ticker is concurrently on the SEC Reg SHO threshold list, the short side is saturated and the Reg-SHO forced-buy-in mechanism is about to release. Contrarian LONG on the squeeze setup.
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