Days to cover (DTC)
How many days it would take every short seller to buy their way out, if they all used a normal day's trading volume. Under one day means the exit door is wide open; many days means a crowd pressing through a narrow door — the raw material a real squeeze needs.
Short interest (SI) divided by average daily volume. Two properties matter in practice. First, the ratio COMPRESSES exactly when a squeeze narrative peaks, because volume explodes — a headline-huge short position can become exitable inside a single session on a big day, which is the opposite of trapped. Second, the numerator is stale by construction (semi-monthly, lagged) while the denominator is live, so quote the volume basis whenever you quote the ratio. A reading under one on the move day lowers the apparent exit burden — supporting evidence against a squeeze, never decisive on its own; corroborate with the borrow market and the next settlement print.
Used in
- Doximity Doubles Overnight: Squeeze or Re-Rating? Why the Difference Decides Everything — Short interest as amplifier, not cause
- The Hertz 'Squeeze' That Wasn't: Reading Positioning Before You Pay for It — Was there actually a squeeze? The three checks
- Short-Squeeze Forensics: The Method — Decompose the headline short interest