4 Stocks With High Short Interest (RBCN, BPI, CONN, PWER)

Stocks with high short interests tend to have explosive moves on news-based situations, such as earnings, guidance or a product release that Wall Street wasn't expecting.

Here are a few stocks with high short interests.

Rubicon Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCN) has a short interest of almost 60%, as the semiconductor company has the highest short interest among publicly-traded stocks. At last check, shares of Rubicon were up 3 cents to $24.82.

Rubicon Technology develops, manufactures, and sells monocrystalline sapphire and other crystalline products for light-emitting diodes, radio frequency integrated circuits, blue laser diodes, optoelectronics, and other optical applications.

Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (NYSE: BPI) has almost half of its float held short. Bridgepoint has come under scrutiny lately, and was the subject of its own Senate hearing last week.

Bridgepoint Education, Inc. provides postsecondary education services. It offers associates, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs.

CONN'S, Inc. (NASDAQ: CONN) has 41.6% of its float sold short. At last check, shares of the retail company were off 8 cents to $4.50, a loss of 1.75%.

Conns, Inc. operates as a specialty retailer of home appliances, consumer electronics, home office equipment, lawn and garden products, mattresses, and furniture in the United States.

Power-One, Inc. (NASDAQ: PWER) shares are sharply higher today, gaining almost 8% on the back of a call for alternative energy in wake of the nuclear power plant explosion in Japan from the earthquake. It has over 41% of its float sold short.

Power-One, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets power conversion and power management solutions for the renewable energy, communications infrastructure, and other high technology markets.