Investors in Vaxart (NASDAQ:VXRT) and VXRT stock have seen some pretty impressive volatility of late. Indeed, this stock rose as much as 12% this morning on heavier-than-normal volume.
It appears investors remain bullish on the overall story with Vaxart stock right now. The company’s announcement yesterday that Vaxart’s CEO Andrei Floroiu would be appearing on Benzinga’s “Power Hour” segment drew a lot of attention to this stock in earlier trading. However, heavy selling into this event has led to VXRT stock giving up most of its gains from today.
That said, the fact that VXRT stock is actually green today is a good sign. The market is glowing red right now, as investors rebalance options and futures positions due to the quadruple witching hour taking place today.
Let’s take a look at another key factor that may be behind Vaxart’s recent performance.
Are Retail Investors Taking VXRT Stock Higher?
Given the relative lack of news on Vaxart stock of late, it appears something else is going on. And trolling the various social media sites, we see a significant uptick in activity among retail investors in VXRT stock.
Now, not every stock is a meme stock these days. However, companies like Vaxart with higher-than-average short interest levels certainly seem to be getting attention. Retail investors are out to squeeze hedge funds with as many stocks as possible of late. Accordingly, even companies like Vaxart with short volume ratios of 16% are catching a bid.
Whether or not Vaxart catches fire among those looking to orchestrate a short squeeze remains to be seen. However, this stock’s low per-share price, its relatively high short interest, and growing retail investor interest suggests some speculative buying could be at play here.
Perhaps investors are simply buying Vaxart for its fundamental long-term value today. However, given how red the market is right now, VXRT stock is one to put on the watch list for now.
On the date of publication, Chris MacDonald 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.
