The S&P 500 is at a four-year high and the investors that
continue to try and fight the current bull market are taking a
beating. There are a large number of stocks that trade with high
short positions, even as the market is at highs.   The short
interest ratio on a stock is the amount of trading days it would
take for all the shorts to be covered with average volume. For
example, a short interest ratio of 8 would suggest it will take
eight trading days for all the short positions to be covered if
that was the entire volume each day.  When stocks are trading
near highs and breakout to new levels it often will trigger a
short covering rally as the short sellers give up their bearish
bet and cover the position. To cover the position the short sell
must buy back the stock and thus creates a large wave of buying;
the end result is a stock rally.  SEE: Short Interest: What It
Tells Us  Four stocks generated by a scan that searches for
potential short covering candidates are highlighted below:
Realty Income (NYSE: