What happened Shares of Torchlight Energy Resources (NASDAQ: TRCH) soared 58% on Monday after the oil and gas driller extended the closing date of its merger with advanced materials manufacturer Metamaterial. So what Torchlight and Metamaterial agreed to push back the transaction date to June 30. This will give Torchlight enough time to pay its shareholders the special dividend it announced on June 14. Torchlight Energy Resources' stock price has surged in recent days. Image source: Getty Images. Torchlight's common stockholders who own shares at the close of the June 24 record date will receive one share of Series A preferred stock for every share of common stock they own. The preferred stock will entitle investors to a portion of the proceeds the combined company receives from the planned sale of its oil and gas assets. Torchlight intends to pay the special dividend on June 25. Now what Torchlight has garnered attention from traders on Reddit and other social media platforms. Some of these traders are hoping to ignite a short squeeze by driving up the stock's price and forcing short-sellers to exit their positions. Their goal is to cause so much pain for short-sellers that they rush to buy back the shares they shorted, which could help accelerate the steep rise in the stock's price. Still, although short squeezes can create sharp upward moves, they also tend to be short-lived. And when a squeeze ends, investors who bought late in the rally can often suffer sizable losses. 10 stocks we like better than Torchlight Energy ResourcesWhen our award-winning analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* They just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Torchlight Energy Resources wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of June 7, 2021 Joe Tenebruso has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source