KMA Global Solutions International (KMAG)

[TradingCharts]

If a company declares a stock dividend both the naked short seller and the short seller are on the hook to deliver those shares to the lender. This forces the short seller to "buy to cover" so they can return the shares to the lender. Couple this with the typical price appreciation of a dividend announcement and the fact that short sellers can get caught in a stampede that is self perpetuating because all of the short sellers try to "buy and cover" or exit at once. This phenomena is known as a "short squeeze" and drives the share price higher as shorts rush to the exits to close out part or all of their positions or at least whatever is required to satisfy the stock dividend requirement. Stocks with a high percentage of the float sold short are particularly susceptible to this phenomena.