Investors in Bionano Genomics (NASDAQ:BNGO) Monday morning are picking up where they left off on Friday, boosting the shares of what has become the latest meme stock focus. BNGO stock has surged more than 15% in pre-market trading, after gaining more than 9% to end last week.
What’s behind the move? Likely it’s the continued sentiment from the Reddit r/WallStreetBets crowd, where there’s been a 16.2% increase in mentions in the last 24 hours, according to sentiment tracking sites.
To be sure, Bionano did have some news out earlier today, with its announcement of the hiring of a new chief commercial officer. Industry veteran Jason Priar is taking on the role, bringing with him a number of years of experience working with labs that perform genome analysis in cancer and genetic diseases.
He will lead the genomics firm’s commercial teams across the platform and services businesses to drive sales and market access with third-party payors.
BNGO Stock Moved on Short Squeeze Speculation
As InvestorPlace contributor Chris MacDonald wrote on Friday, potential short squeezes mark most of the reigning meme stocks. In the case of Bionano, the percentage of this company’s shares sold short sits just above 13%.
While that is high, is it enough to fuel an effective short squeeze?
Typically, companies with short interest ratios around 20% or higher are better targets. However, enough attention given to one specific stock could drive the price up to a level where others feel enticed to take the other side of the trade. Such a scenario could result in a self-fulfilling prophecy where this company’s short volume ratio goes up.
As MacDonald wrote, “For now, social media-related hype is what investors appear to be relying on with respect to BNGO stock. At the end of the day, this is a real business with real fundamentals and growth prospects. However, these important details don’t seem to matter.”
On the date of publication, Robert Lakin did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
InvestorPlace contributor Robert Lakin is a veteran financial writer and editor, including previous stints with Bloomberg News and as a buyside equity research editor. His Substack newsletter, TLV Strategist, covers the Israel business scene.
