is 20 a high short interest 
yes short interest as a percentage of float above 20 is considered high and it indicates a very pessimistic sentiment the bottom lineshort interest indicates how many shares of a company are currently sold short and not yet covered short interest is often expressed as a number yet it is more telling as a percentage an increase in short interest often signals that investors have become more bearish while a decrease in short interest shows they have become more bullish short interest can be used as an indicator of market sentiment for a company s stock or the market as a whole and some investors use this as an indication that it might be profitable to short that company s stock 