Bears Pile Into AI and Chips — While Sandals Get Squeezed

Short sellers are making bold moves this week. Data as of June 18 shows sharp divergence across sectors.

SHAZ — SharonAI Holdings — is the standout mover. Short interest jumped +41.7 percentage points in seven days to 54.5% of free float. Bears are piling in fast. Cost to borrow sits at 10.4% with near-zero availability.

AI chips remain firmly in bearish crosshairs. WOLF — Wolfspeed — now has short interest exceeding 103% of free float, the highest among large-caps. Bears are piling into SiC chip exposure as the company struggles with profitability.

SOUN sits at 37.5% SI % FF with a 10.5% cost to borrow and zero availability — meaning new shorts face serious friction. That squeeze pressure is building.

CBRS — Cerebras Systems — saw short interest climb to 32.4% of FF, up nearly 7 points on the week. AI infrastructure scepticism is real.

On the cover side, BIRK — Birkenstock — saw shorts retreat 3.5 points to 26.8% FF. Cost to borrow remains elevated at 21.4%, still signalling stress.

SPRY — ARS Pharmaceuticals — shed 5.3 points of SI to 55% FF. Some covering, but still heavily contested.

Rental cars stay a bear favourite. CAR holds 48.2% SI % FF. HTZ sits at 43.3%.