Squeeze Quakes Ahead: Why This Rally Could Explode Before Long
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TM Editors' note: This article discusses a penny stock and/or microcap. Such stocks are easily manipulated; do your own careful due diligence.
The S&P 500 keeps grinding higher, sitting around 6014 as of late Monday. The big question I’m getting in my TheoChat sessions: Can anything stop this market? Maybe. Maybe not. But right now, I’m watching something a bit more subtle but potentially explosive—what I call a “squeezequake.”
A squeezequake is a market phenomenon that blends gamma squeezes with good old-fashioned short squeezes. Most traders don’t see them coming. But if you know what to look for - unusual call buying here, low VIX there, high skew, and heavily shorted stocks - you can catch some massive moves before they explode.
Here’s the setup…
The VIX is low - dangerously low at 17 right now. But what's more telling is the spread between the three-month and one-month VIX, which is now hovering around 19.4%. That signals big traders are betting on increased volatility in the near term. And when volatility picks up, it rarely means higher prices, rather it means shakeouts.
That’s why I’m looking for that last gasp rally - where short squeezes rip higher before the air comes out of this market. These moves can be fast, mechanical, and extremely profitable. We're seeing evidence of them right now.
Take B&G Foods (BGS), it’s up 8% today. There was a massive call buying on the July 18th expiration - 2,300 contracts versus an open interest of just six. That’s not retail. That’s institutional activity. And when market makers sell that volume of calls, they have to hedge by buying stock, which adds pressure to the upside. Now mix in 33% short interest, and you've got the makings of a real squeezequake. All it needs is a spark.
Then there's Teladoc (TDOC). No, it’s not a great company. But remember, these trades aren’t about fundamentals. Today saw huge call buying, 10,000 contracts on the $8 strike expiring this week. Short interest? 13%. That’s enough. And if price creeps up, market makers start hedging, shorts get nervous, and we could see another squeeze ignite.
The third setup? Virgin Galactic (SPCE). Again, fundamentals? Forget them. This is all about mechanics. 17,000 calls traded today at the $3.50 level. I picked up $4 calls for under a dime. If SPCE runs to $5, that option could go 10x. All it needs is some momentum, and the squeeze could be on.
Bottom line: these aren’t guaranteed trades. They’re low-probability, high-reward setups. But at 5 to 10 cents per option, you only need one of them to hit for 300% to 400%, and it covers a week’s worth of losses. That’s the power of the squeeze quake.
Inside my Ghost Prints mastermind, we’re tracking these setups daily—scanning for the biggest institutional trades, following the prints, and setting up for asymmetric payoffs. These next few days could get wild. Watch the option activity. Watch for the match that lights the fuse.
Because when a squeeze quake erupts, it moves fast—and you want to be holding the right side of the trade before it blows.
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