Support.com stock squeezes higher by more than 100%

Support.com Inc. shares squeezed higher Friday as a stockholder vote neared on the proposed merger with bitcoin miner Greenidge Generation Holdings Inc. 

Shares of the Sunnyvale, California-based technical support company soared by as much as 118% to a record high $42.93 apiece before paring their gains. The stock, which has been halted several times due to volatility, was up 448% over the past nine sessions. 

A "Gamma squeeze + momentum buying + some short covering = monster rally," wrote Ihor Dusaniwsky, managing director of predictive analytics at financial-analytics firm S3 Partners.

A gamma squeeze occurs when open options positions force additional buying of the underlying stock. Such an instance occurred when AMC Entertainment shares skyrocketed earlier this year. 

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The squeeze in Support.com shares that has occurred over the past week has sent short-sellers scrambling to cover their positions, resulting in interest decreasing by 238,000 shares. 

Still, short interest is $117.45 million, or 5.96 million shares which account for nearly 60% of the float, or shares available for trading, S3 data shows. 

Traders betting against Support.com have $71 million in mark-to-market losses in August, according to S3. They have lost $95 million this year.   

Support.com on March 22 announced an all-stock merger with Greenidge Generation, a bitcoin mining and power generation company. Support.com shareholders are scheduled to vote on the transaction on September 10. 

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Upon completion of the deal, Support.com stockholders would receive approximately 0.124 shares of Class A common stock of Greenidge for each share of Support.com owned.