One of my favorite strategies is riding the short squeeze.
I use it all the time — it’s one of my go to strategies, and I couldn’t imagine trading without it. However, this wasn’t always the case, but I found lately that a lot of traders have asked me to really “flush out” all that there is to a short squeeze.
That’s why, for this next series, I’ll explain to you what it is, how I discovered it, who it’s good for, and when to apply it.
Let’s dive in…
As a self-made trader I’d always considered myself to be fairly conservative when it came to buying and selling options. Of course I wanted to grow my account, but I wasn’t willing to “bet the farm” on anything too risky. In fact, I was quite content with my slow-and-steady approach to making money, so I avoided what I considered to be risky strategies — trading the short squeeze was one of them.
What’s A Short Squeeze?
We’ll get more into it than just this… but it’s essentially buying a stock that’s exploding through the highs, in a strong, momentum move.
Check out the move in Peloton (PTON) below.
In a ‘normal’ directional setup, I’d target a 1.272% extension. However, with a short squeeze, experiencing a 2.618% move is ‘normal’ — making it an explosive move.
This is what a short squeeze looks like — it makes a new high, then explodes, through that high.
However, as I grew as a trader, I learned to go beyond my comfort zone and take on more calculated risks. What I found through my analysis was that it’s exactly this type of strategy that can make all the difference in the world, especially when added to the conservative strategies I was doing on a regular basis.
But the glory of trading… it’s never too late to start making your money work harder for you!
So What Changed?
After awhile, I started trading some more aggressive moves, notably the short squeeze.
It was going really well, but it wasn’t a part of my regular day to day. I realized just how impactful it was when I was doing my end of year review, and I realized that majority of my profits came from this setup. It might seem strange to know the exact day I realized how powerful this was, and why I should devote more of a focus to it. But, the proof is in the pudding, and I saw this at my end of year review.
Like a lot of other traders, I do this every single year. Sometimes certain years are better than others, but the most important part is that you do it consistently.
To help, here are a few key components I look for:
- Best and worse performance by ticker
- One-off wins and losses (they add up!)
- Best and worse trading patterns
To my surprise, when I looked at my top ten traded tickers, six out of those ten had something in common. It was a brand new pattern I didn’t even notice throughout the year — and it was better than my usual strategy at the time
2019 Screenshot of my Top 20 Most Profitable Tickers
Now this year, the tickers are different… but the pattern remains the same.
After Pulling That Data From My Trading…
It was right then and there, I realized everything I thought about aggressive and risky moves was a lie. I found that I could still stick to my core strategies, but by layering them over the short squeeze pattern, I could improve upon my gains whilst still mitigating my risk… and the rest is history.
Fun Fact: It’s also how I’ve made 500% on my account in 2020, twice.
5x account gains trading tickers like Chewy (CHWY), Peloton (PTON), Zoetis (ZTS), and more.
Some of the best moves this year were in Peloton (PTON), Chewy (CHWY), and Tesla (TSLA). What was your favorite short squeeze this year?
Tune in next Thursday, as I’m going to tell you more about my favorite aggressive setup, during this month’s Short Squeeze Series. Stay tuned for more!
