Biggest Small-Cap Gaps on August 26, 2026: Sourced Float and Dilution Data

Direct answer: On August 26, 2026, four US small-caps with tight floats recorded intraday moves of +77% to +224% and opening gaps ranging from +62% to +953%. CRE (2.01M float), YYGH (3.20M), VMAR (6.53M), and SOAR (53.18M) traded between 3 million and 526 million shares. The observation is straightforward: a limited float amplifies price moves in the face of high volume. No specific catalyst is established here; this article presents measured data and the underlying mechanism, with no prediction or advice.

Four extreme moves on August 26, 2026

The August 26, 2026 session saw four tickers post intraday gains above +75%, all with floats below 54 million shares.

Ticker	Intraday high	Gap (%)	Float (M)	Close price ($)	Volume
CRE (Cre8 Enterprise Limited)	+224%	+137%	2.01	6.7826	40,557,078
SOAR (Volato Group, Inc.)	+132%	+62%	53.18	0.245	526,473,968
YYGH (YY Group Holding Limited)	+125%	+66%	3.20	2.135	32,330,364
VMAR (Vision Marine Technologies Inc.)	+77%	+953%	6.53	9.30	3,356,777

Every figure comes from the FloatVerify database, which consolidates SEC filings: Forms 3, 4, and 5 for insider holdings; 10-Qs and 10-Ks for common stock outstanding; S-1s, S-3s, and 424Bs for dilution. The float is dated. It reflects the state at the time of measurement and can change with the next filing.

Mechanism: low float + high volume = amplified volatility

A float of 2 to 6.5 million shares means very few shares are available for trading. When a volume of tens of millions of shares changes hands (40.5M for CRE, 32.3M for YYGH), each available share is "turned over" multiple times during the session.

The result? Price moves amplify.

On the buy side, buyer flow meets thin supply, lifts the bid, and sends the price up fast. On the sell side, seller flow blows through support levels without encountering much demand. The price drops hard. This isn't a value judgment, just an observation: a stock with a high float (several hundred million shares) would absorb the same volume without moving nearly as much.

VMAR posted a +953% gap with volume of just 3.3 million shares against a 6.53M float. Half the float turned over in one session. CRE, with a 2.01M float and 40.5M volume, saw each available share trade an average of 20 times during the day. This turnover rate is an indicator of stress, not intrinsic stock quality.

Short Sale Restriction (SSR) and its role in bounces

When a stock drops 10% or more from the prior close, the SSR rule (Regulation SHO, Rule 201) triggers automatically. It stays in effect through the end of the following session and imposes a constraint: short sales can only execute at or above the bid (uptick rule).

This doesn't block short selling. It changes the timing. Shorts must wait for an uptick to enter. On a low-float, high-volume stock, this constraint can amplify technical bounces—short sellers can no longer "hit the bid" freely.

SSR is not a bullish catalyst. It's a circuit-breaker that alters market microstructure. It can amplify an existing upward move, but it doesn't create one. Closing data from August 26 doesn't specify whether SSR was active on CRE, SOAR, YYGH, or VMAR; this information is available on brokerage platforms and data tools.

Dilution: the factor that changes everything, quickly

Float is not a fixed number. It increases every time a company issues new shares: ATM (At-The-Market) offering, S-1 (IPO or follow-on), S-3 (secondary offering), warrant exercise, preferred conversion. Sudden dilution can multiply the float by 2, 5, or 10 in a matter of days, killing volatility.

Take a generic case (not specific to the August 26 tickers, since no immediate dilution data is provided here). A stock with a 3M float that files an S-3 to issue 10M new shares will see its float jump to 13M as soon as pricing occurs. The same buy volume, facing a float four times larger, will produce a much smaller gain.

That's why FloatVerify dates every float figure and displays "source splits" (divergences between sources). On a small-cap that gaps hard, a float measured a week ago can be obsolete if a 424B (final prospectus) was filed in the meantime.

Where to find float and SEC filings

Float is calculated in three steps:

1. Common stock outstanding: total number of ordinary shares in circulation. Shown in 10-Qs (quarterly) and 10-Ks (annual) filed on SEC EDGAR.
2. Insider holdings: sum of shares held by officers, directors, and major shareholders (>10%). Declared on Forms 3 (initial position), 4 (transaction), and 5 (annual statement).
3. Locked-up blocks and restricted shares: shares subject to lock-up (contractual agreement post-IPO) or restricted under Rule 144 (unregistered). This information is scattered across prospectuses (S-1, S-3) and financial statement footnotes.

Float = Common stock outstanding − Insider holdings − Restricted/locked shares

FloatVerify automates this consolidation and displays the date of each source. When multiple sources give conflicting figures—for example, a data aggregator vs. a recent SEC filing—FloatVerify shows both and flags the divergence ("source split") instead of arbitrarily picking one.

Volume and turnover: two sides of the same coin

Volume alone says nothing. 500 million shares traded on a 1 billion float is 50% turnover (each share changes hands half a time). 500 million shares on a 50 million float is 1,000% turnover. Each share changes hands 10 times.

August 26 data:

• SOAR: 526.5M volume, 53.18M float → ~990% turnover (nearly 10 full rotations).
• CRE: 40.5M volume, 2.01M float → ~2,015% turnover (over 20 rotations).
• YYGH: 32.3M volume, 3.20M float → ~1,009% turnover.
• VMAR: 3.3M volume, 6.53M float → ~51% turnover.

Turnover above 100% means the entire float changed hands at least once. Above 500%, you're in extreme rotation territory. Each available share is "turned over" multiple times. This is an indicator of stress, not quality or sustainability of the move.

Recap

Point	Takeaway
Top moves	CRE +224%, SOAR +132%, YYGH +125%, VMAR +77% intraday; gaps from +62% to +953%.
Float	From 2.01M (CRE) to 53.18M (SOAR), all below 54M shares available.
Volume	Between 3.3M (VMAR) and 526.5M (SOAR), generating turnovers from 51% to 2,015%.
Mechanism	Low float + high volume = amplified volatility.
SSR	Circuit-breaker rule triggered at −10% or worse; restricts short timing, doesn't block selling.
Dilution	Float changes with every issuance (S-1, S-3, ATM, warrants). Dating the figure is critical.
Sources	SEC EDGAR: 10-Q/10-K (outstanding), 3/4/5 (insiders), S-1/S-3/424B (dilution). FloatVerify consolidates and dates.

FAQ

Which stocks had the biggest gaps on August 26, 2026?
The four most extreme moves were CRE (+224% intraday, +137% gap, 2.01M float), SOAR (+132%, +62% gap, 53.18M float), YYGH (+125%, +66% gap, 3.20M float), and VMAR (+77%, +953% gap, 6.53M float). All had floats below 54 million shares.

Why does a low float amplify price moves?
When the number of shares available for trading (the float) is small, a given buy volume encounters less supply and pushes the price higher. Conversely, sell volume drives the price down faster. Fewer shares available means greater potential volatility for any given volume.

Where do you find the float of a US small-cap?
Float is calculated by subtracting insider holdings (Forms 3, 4, 5 filed on SEC EDGAR), locked-up blocks, and restricted shares from the total shares outstanding (common stock outstanding, shown in 10-Qs and 10-Ks). This number changes with every dilution: ATM offering, S-1, S-3, warrant exercise, conversion. FloatVerify consolidates these sources and dates each figure.

What is the Short Sale Restriction (SSR) and when does it apply?
SSR is a circuit-breaker rule: if a stock drops 10% or more from the prior close, short selling is restricted until the end of the following session. Shorts can only sell at or above the bid (uptick rule). This doesn't block selling, but changes timing, which can amplify technical bounces on low-float stocks.

Are these moves reproducible or predictable?
No. A low float and high volume create conditions for extreme volatility, but timing, magnitude, and direction remain unpredictable. Dilution can kill a move overnight by increasing the float. FloatVerify shows current data, with no prediction or directional advice.

Sources

• SEC EDGAR (https://www.sec.gov/edgar): official database of US regulatory filings. Forms 10-Q, 10-K (common stock outstanding), 3, 4, 5 (insider holdings), S-1, S-3, 424B (prospectus and dilution).
• Regulation SHO, Rule 201 (Short Sale Restriction): SEC circuit-breaker rule, available on sec.gov.
• FloatVerify: automated consolidation of SEC sources, dating of each figure, display of divergences (source split).

See the float, sourced and dated, on FloatVerify.

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FloatVerify shows the float, dilution and cash burn of US small-caps, every number sourced and dated — and surfaces divergences between sources ("source split") instead of one falsely certain figure.

Disclaimer: FloatVerify is a data tool, not an investment advisory service. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell. Data, not advice.