What is a short squeeze watchlist, and how is one kept honest?
A short squeeze watchlist is a short list of heavily shorted stocks that are waiting for a chart trigger, each with the level that would start the trade and the stop that would end it. It is not a list of stocks that will squeeze. On the Desk the list is screened again every week; as of 8 Oct 2026 its closed squeeze trades number 39, with 15 winners, a 59% stop-out rate and +11.7R in total.
A watchlist is a waiting room, not a tip sheet
The mistake most squeeze lists make is to publish names and leave the reader to decide when. A useful watchlist publishes the decision with the name: the price that would turn a crowded short into a forced buyer, and the price that would say it is not happening. Until the first is reached, the name is just a name. Most weeks most of the list never triggers, and that is the list working.
How a name gets on, and how it comes off
A stock earns a place by being crowded (a high share of the float sold short and several days of volume needed to cover) and by having a chart that could force the issue. Each week the list is screened again, so a name whose shorts have covered, or whose chart has rolled over, drops off without ceremony. A name leaves the list in one of three ways: it triggers and becomes a trade with a stop, it drops off at the weekly screen, or it hits its invalidation before it ever triggers.
What the record says about squeeze trades
Squeeze setups are the hardest part of the Desk and the record shows it. Of 39 closed squeeze trades, 15 won and 59% hit their stop. The winners averaged about +2.4R and the losers about −1R, which nets out at roughly +0.3R a trade, positive but thin. Compare the forex side at about +0.45R a trade, on 28 wins from 53. A squeeze list should be traded smaller than the rest of a portfolio and judged over dozens of trades, not over one famous name.
The good ones look like this: LUNR closed at target for +4.34R in May 2026, ASTS for +2.52R the same month, and TWST, PATH and SAIL each for about +2R in August. Each of those had its stop on the list before it triggered.
Using a watchlist without staring at it
Put an alert on every trigger level and walk away. When one fires, check that the trigger is the one written down (a daily close above the level counts for more than a tap on a small cap), place the stop that came with it, and size so a full stop is one unit of risk. The method behind the screen is in how to find short squeeze stocks; the losing side is laid out in every loss published.
This week’s setups are already mapped
Every Sunday before the open: analysed swing setups across stocks, forex, gold and crypto with the exact entry, stop and target, an alert when one triggers, the live dashboard and the paid Substack letters.
Get this week’s setups →111 trades · 54 losers shown · +54.5R see the full record →
FAQ
What is a short squeeze watchlist?
A short list of heavily shorted stocks with a chart trigger and a stop for each. The trigger is the price that would force shorts to buy; the stop is the price that says the squeeze is not coming.
How often is the Desk squeeze list updated?
It is screened again every week. Names drop off when the shorts cover or the chart rolls over.
What is the win rate on squeeze setups?
As of 8 Oct 2026, 15 of 39 closed squeeze trades won, with winners averaging about +2.4R and losers about −1R, for +11.7R in total. It is the lowest win rate on the Desk.
Can I see the names before I join?
Not while they are live. The list is for members, and a name only becomes public once its trade has closed, when it goes on the record with its levels.