Screening Filters
Price: min = 0.10, max = 1.00
- Purpose: Focus on U.S. penny stocks trading under $1, while excluding ultra‑illiquid, sub‑penny names.
- Rationale:
- Your request is “a US stock priced under $1” → setting the max at $1 directly matches this.
- The min at $0.10 deliberately avoids securities trading at fractions of a cent, which are often extremely illiquid, highly manipulated, and usually much harder (or impossible) to short in practice.
- This keeps us in the “tradable” end of sub‑$1 stocks that are more likely to be available for borrow and actually executable at a reasonable spread.
Volume: min = 500,000 shares (today)
- Purpose: Ensure sufficient liquidity so the stock is realistically tradable for short selling.
- Rationale:
- For shorting, you need tight spreads and the ability to get in and out without moving the price too much; that’s only possible with adequate volume.
- A 500k+ volume filter helps:
- Reduce the risk of being trapped in a thinly traded name.
- Improve execution quality (tighter bid–ask spreads).
- Increase the odds that shares are actually borrowable through brokers (though borrow availability itself is not something this screener can measure).
Price Change %: min = +5% (today)
- Purpose: Target stocks that have already moved significantly up today, making them more plausible short setups (e.g., overextended, momentum that may fade).
- Rationale:
- You asked for a stock “suitable for short selling today,” which implies current action / opportunity, not just static fundamentals.
- A ≥ +5% daily move surfaces stocks that:
- Are experiencing unusual strength or hype, and
- May be overextended in the short term, which is often where short sellers look for potential reversals, profit-taking, or mean reversion.
- This effectively focuses the list on active, moving targets instead of dead, flat penny stocks.
Exchange: [XNYS, XNAS, XASE] (NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX)
- Purpose: Restrict results to major U.S. exchanges.
- Rationale:
- Your request is specifically for a “US stock”; these exchanges are the main U.S. equity venues.
- Stocks on NYSE, NASDAQ, and AMEX generally:
- Have better regulatory oversight than OTC markets.
- Offer better liquidity and more reliable data.
- Are more likely to be shortable vs. many OTC names, even though the screener cannot directly check borrow availability.
Why Results Match Your Request
- U.S. stocks only: Limiting to NYSE, NASDAQ, and AMEX directly matches your requirement for a U.S. stock.
- Under $1: The price cap of $1.00 aligns with “priced under $1.” The $0.10 floor is there to avoid non-tradable, ultra‑low‑priced tickers that are usually very poor short candidates in practice.
- Potentially suitable for shorting today:
- High volume (≥500k) → makes it more realistic you can execute a short with acceptable liquidity.
- Strong price move today (≥ +5%) → surfaces names that are running up right now, where many short sellers look for potential overextension.
- Practical limitations:
- We do not have filters for borrow availability, short interest, or borrow fees, which are critical in real-life shorting.
- Because those aren’t supported, the screener uses liquidity, exchange quality, and strong recent price appreciation as practical proxies to find names that are more likely to be shortable and interesting short setups.
So while we can’t guarantee a given stock is borrowable or a “good” short, these filters are chosen to narrow the universe to liquid, U.S.-listed sub‑$1 stocks that are moving up sharply today, which is a reasonable and effective way to search for short-selling candidates in your requested price range.
This list is generated based on data from one or more third party data providers. It is provided for informational purposes only by Intellectia.AI, and is not investment advice or a recommendation. Intellectia does not make any warranty or guarantee relating to the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of any third-party information, and the provision of this information does not constitute a recommendation.