No Bulls? Just Bushes. 🌳🐻
When hedge funds are shorting the market, sometimes the “crowd” isn’t cheering — it’s hiding in the shrubbery.
Bank of America estimates that roughly 85% of total market short interest now comes from hedge funds. Translation: this isn’t retail betting against the market — it’s pros, quants, and macro funds sharpening their claws.
And where are they pointing them? Not at meme stocks. Not at obvious trash. But at well-known, widely owned S&P 500 names — the kind you’d expect to see grazing peacefully in a bull market, not nervously checking over their shoulders.
Are these future short squeezes, value traps, or simply smart hedges in a pricey market? Hard to say, but Moderna was already heavily shorted a couple of months ago when it started to rally — it's nearly doubled since! We wrote a bullish article back then (one of several). One thing’s clear: when hedge funds pile on the short side, it pays to pay attention — even if you don’t join the stampede.
Below are the most shorted S&P 500 stocks right now, ranked by short interest as a percentage of float. No bulls charging here… just bushes rustling. 🌿
🐻📉 Most Shorted S&P 500 Stocks (Short % of Float)
| Rank | Company | Ticker | Short Interest (% of Float) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moderna, Inc. | MRNA | 17.4% |
| 2 | Lennar Corporation Class A | LEN | 16.0% |
| 3 | Super Micro Computer, Inc. | SMCI | 14.5% |
| 4 | Brown-Forman Corp. Class B | BF.B | 14.5% |
| 5 | Charter Communications, Inc. Class A | CHTR | 13.1% |
| 6 | Trade Desk, Inc. Class A | TTD | 10.5% |
| 7 | DaVita Inc. | DVA | 10.3% |
| 8 | International Paper Company | IP | 10.1% |
| 9 | Campbell’s Company | CPB | 10.1% |
| 10 | Fox Corporation Class A | FOXA | 10.1% |
| 11 | ON Semiconductor Corp. | ON | 9.9% |
| 12 | Dollar Tree, Inc. | DLTR | 9.6% |
| 13 | Omnicom Group Inc. | OMC | 9.6% |
| 14 | First Solar, Inc. | FSLR | 9.3% |
| 15 | TKO Group Holdings, Inc. Class A | TKO | 9.3% |
| 16 | APA Corporation | APA | 9.2% |
| 17 | Western Digital Corp. | WDC | 9.0% |
| 18 | Skyworks Solutions, Inc. | SWKS | 8.6% |
| 19 | Molson Coors Beverage Co. Class B | TAP | 8.6% |
| 20 | Molina Healthcare, Inc. | MOH | 8.5% |
🧠 FUNanc1al Take
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📌 High short interest ≠ bad company
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📌 It does mean expect volatility
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📌 Some of these could squeeze
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📌 Others may validate the bears
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📌 All deserve a closer look
In late-cycle markets, hedge funds don’t just short weak businesses — they short expectations. But a few of the businesses above may also be formidably cheap for the wrong reasons. Opportunities await then.
🌿 Carpe Diem takeaway:
When bulls go missing and hedgies head for the bushes, it might not be panic…
…it might just be positioning.
Seize the day. But mind the thorns. 😄📉