Avis Brings Back The Short Squeeze — Navitas, Beyond Meat Join In

Meme stock mania is alive and well in April 2026. Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) is leading the pack, but several other heavily-shorted stocks are joining in. 

• CAR stock is moving. See the chart and price action here. 

CAR Keeps Squeezing

Shares of Avis are up 9.23% to $665 Tuesday, capping a staggering rally that has seen the stock surge 500% over recent weeks from lows in the $80s — a move that has left short sellers bleeding. 

Barclays downgraded CAR to Sell Monday after the run, noting short interest near 100%. The downgrade has done nothing to stop the momentum. 

According to Benzinga data, short interest stood near 54% of the free float as recently as late March, with an elevated days-to-cover that amplifies every uptick. 

A stake disclosure from Pentwater Capital added fuel to the fire, and options gamma dynamics have market makers scrambling to hedge by buying shares — creating a classic feedback loop where rising prices force more covering, which drives prices higher still.

Potential Squeezes

Navitas Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ:NVTS) is making a strong case for a place in the squeeze conversation, surging +19.28% to $15.74 on volume of 43 million shares — roughly double its average, per Benzinga Pro.  

Earlier this month, traders purchased over 80,000 call options on NVTS, representing a 134% spike versus the daily average. 

With 28% of the float sold short, the setup looks textbook. Fundamentals remain weak — quarterly revenue cratered 59% year-over-year — but in a meme tape, that’s beside the point.

Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) is also in the mix. The embattled plant-based protein company, which carries ~33.7% of its float short, is seeing enormous activity with volume topping 259 million shares against an average of 38 million — though shares are slightly lower at $1.13 midday.

Elsewhere in the heavily-shorted universe, Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID) is pushing 9.34% higher to $7.38 despite persistent analyst bearishness and a short float exceeding 52%. 

Opendoor Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:OPEN) is up 8.97% to $5.83, with 14.5% of the float short. 

ImmunityBio Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) sits at $8.16, relatively quiet but with 43.2% of the float short and 120 million shares sold short — a powder keg should a catalyst emerge.

The broad meme tape revival echoes familiar dynamics: a frothy risk-on environment, speculative retail participation and short sellers caught offside in names with structural weaknesses that the market is temporarily choosing to ignore. 

History suggests these moves can last longer — and go higher — than almost anyone expects, before reversing just as violently.

Photo: Mino Surkala / Shutterstock