Citigroup (C) is the most shorted stock in America. As of April 15, the bank had a short interest of 1.237 billion shares. Its trading volume average of the prior two weeks was 532 million shares a day. Citi has an extraordinary 24% of its float sold short, a sign that a huge number of investors are willing to gamble against the share price. Citi’s stock is subject to wild swings, in part because the short sellers in the company’s shares have been “squeezed” more than once this year–forced to cover when the banks had good news. That covering magnified the rebound in Citi’s share price. Citi is a “rumor a day” stock. Recently, the market has speculated about the fate of the bank’s CEO, Vikram Pandit, whether the firm will have to raise money because of government stress tests, and whether the bank can maintain the earnings it posted for the first quarter. So far this year, the stock has traded in a range of $7.46 to $.97, a short seller’s dream. 24/7 Wallst
