Free Float
Definition
The portion of a company's shares available for public trading, excluding insider, strategic, and locked-up holdings. Low free float amplifies short-squeeze potential because shares are harder to source for borrowing.
Related Terms
Utilisation
The percentage of a stock's lendable float currently out on loan. High utilisation (>90%) indicates supply scarcity and rising borrow fees — a classic precursor to short-squeeze conditions.
Hard-to-Borrow
Stocks where shares for short-selling are scarce, driving up borrow fees and increasing recall risk. Often coincides with a building short squeeze setup. On the ASX, hard-to-borrow status is broker-defined and not publicly listed.
Liquidity
How easily a stock can be bought or sold without moving the price. Measured by spread, depth, and volume. ASX 200 stocks are typically highly liquid; small and micro-caps less so.
See short selling in action
Explore real-time ASIC short position data for ASX stocks.