Best short stocks today

Screening Filters

1. Region: United States (region: ['United States'])

   • Purpose: Limit results to U.S.-listed companies.
   • Rationale: You specifically asked for “US stock market,” so we restrict to U.S. companies to match your market focus and regulatory environment (pattern day-trade rules, borrow availability, tax, etc.).

2. Exchange Listing (list_exchange: ['XNYS', 'XNAS', 'XASE'])

   • Purpose: Focus on major U.S. exchanges: NYSE, NASDAQ, and NYSE American (AMEX).
   • Rationale:
     • These exchanges generally have better liquidity and tighter spreads than OTC/pink-sheet names.
     • Stocks on major exchanges are typically easier to borrow for shorting and more suitable for institutional-style strategies.

3. Minimum Share Price (price: {'min': '5'})

   • Purpose: Exclude penny stocks and ultra-low-priced names.
   • Rationale:
     • Very low-priced stocks tend to be highly volatile, easily manipulated, and often hard to borrow for shorts.
     • A minimum price of $5 targets more established, institutionally traded stocks, making short entries and exits more practical and somewhat less chaotic.

4. Minimum Liquidity (monthly_average_dollar_volume: {'min': '1000000'})

   • Purpose: Ensure the stocks trade at least $1M of dollar volume per month on average.
   • Rationale:
     • Adequate liquidity is critical for shorting: you want to be able to enter and exit without moving the price too much.
     • Higher dollar volume usually means tighter bid–ask spreads and better fill quality.
     • It helps avoid thinly traded names where covering a short can be difficult or costly.

5. Long-Term Technical Weakness (moving_average_relationship: ['PriceBelowMA200'])

   • Purpose: Find stocks trading below their 200-day moving average.
   • Rationale:
     • The 200-day moving average is a widely watched measure of long-term trend.
     • Price below the 200-day MA typically signals a longer-term downtrend or structural weakness.
     • For short candidates, you usually want names that are not only weak intraday but are also in a broader bearish trend, which can support the short thesis.

6. Negative Daily Price Move (price_change_pct: {'min': '-6', 'max': '-1'})

   • Purpose: Capture stocks that are down moderately on the day (between -1% and -6%).
   • Rationale:
     • A negative move intraday suggests currently bearish sentiment and selling pressure—attractive for short setups.
     • The range avoids:
       • Flat or up stocks (no clear short momentum), and
       • Extremely large crashes (> -6%) where much of the immediate downside might already be realized and volatility/short squeezes can be extreme.
     • This focuses on “actively weak today but not already capitulated” names, which many short-sellers prefer.

Why Results Match

• They are U.S.-listed, major-exchange stocks, aligning with “US stock market” and practical shorting conditions (borrow, spreads, market structure).
• They are liquid, non-penny names (price ≥ $5, dollar volume ≥ $1M), making short trades more executable and less prone to manipulation.
• They show long-term technical weakness (below 200-day MA), consistent with the idea of “good short” candidates rather than strong uptrenders.
• They are already weak today (down 1–6%), fitting the notion of “best short stocks today” by capturing names currently under pressure, not just theoretically overvalued.

These filters don’t guarantee profitable shorts but are designed to surface stocks with characteristics that many professional traders look for when building short watchlists.