The covering continues. If you watch the volume with price spikes that's when it's happening. If you look where this stock was some weeks ago vs. now, the rate of covering can be measured in hundreds of thousands of shares per week. It's going to take a while to whittle down the current short position. There are a lot of investors like me that are holding our shares tight. It makes it hard to cover - you can't break shares loose at a reasonable price. So what happens is the shorts drive the price up on themselves. It's not a short squeeze, but it's a painful process of covering. I can see this stock going up another 10-25 points before the short position gets to a more manageable level (3-4 million shares).

Another way to tell there's a lot of short covering - strong buying on weak market days. When the market has been down 100+ points and the VIX (volatility) went up, VPRT naturally followed the market and wanted to go down. But wait! Suddenly, by mid day, you see the stock creeping up in price, even though everything around it is getting hammered. Why? It's strong buying by shorts. They know it's a small window they can hit to cover their positions. And those windows are fleeting. I notice when they come in Mr. Market recognizes it and voila the price goes up quickly. I tested it when I let a few of my shares go. I priced them 0.75 higher than the current market price. They got grabbed within 15 minutes. I laughed my @$$ off. The shorts are stuck and want out. Now.

wsj