Snail Inc. (NASDAQ:SNAL) shares are soaring on Friday. The surge follows a first-quarter earnings report that caught Wall Street by surprise.

The Nasdaq is down 1.15% while the S&P 500 has shed 0.91% while the stock is up.

Fundamental Growth Triggers Rally

The gaming developer reported a 35.7% jump in net revenue, reaching $27.3 million. This figure cleared Street expectations by 51.64%. The company also reported earnings of 6 cents per share, beating the analyst estimates of a 21-cent loss.

Management attributed the success to the game ARK: Survival Ascended, which sold 1.4 million units.

Management noted that $11 million in deferred revenue remains on the sidelines. They expect to recognize this upon the release of Genesis Part 1.

Short Interest Fueling Momentum

Data suggests a technical squeeze may be amplifying the move. Short interest recently plummeted from 6.23 million to 1.52 million shares. Currently, 11.28% of the float remains short. With average daily volume at 5.07 million shares, shorts have roughly one day to cover.

Key Technical Levels to Watch

SNAL is now trading well above its major trend gauges, sitting about 99.5% above the 20-day SMA of 65 cents and 54.3% above the 200-day SMA of 84 cents.

The 20-day SMA is also above the 50-day SMA (a bullish near-term alignment), but the 50-day SMA remains below the 200-day SMA, a reminder that the longer-term structure is still repairing after prior weakness.

From a level perspective, the stock is working in the upper half of its 52-week range of $2.16 high and 34 cents low, after major turning points clustered in April — swing high, swing low, and the 52-week high/low all occurring that month.

SNAL Price Action: Snail shares were up 18.56% at $1.18 at the time of publication on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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