Bears Pile In: HTZ, WOLF, LEVI in Focus

Short sellers are busy this week. Three names stand out for rising pressure and one is flirting with squeeze territory.

Hertz Global Holdings remains the most-shorted major US stock. SI hit 73.6% of free float as of July 22. Bears have been ramping up all month. SI was 45% in late June — it has surged nearly 30 percentage points in four weeks. Zero shares are available to borrow. That combination is extreme.

Wolfspeed is close behind. SI sits at 79.7% of free float despite a 162% price jump over three months. Short sellers are not backing down. Cost to borrow is just under 7%. Days to cover stands at 7.5. Bears and bulls are locked in a fierce standoff.

Levi Strauss & Co. saw a sharp spike this week. SI jumped from 7.8% to 10.7% in seven days. That is a near-40% relative increase. Shorts built into what may be earnings-related pessimism.

Nektar Therapeutics also climbed. SI reached 28.4%, up 3 points in a week. Availability is still ample at 148%, so shorts can keep piling in.

Meanwhile, Tesla grabs social media attention after a 14% post-earnings selloff. Its SI is low at just 2.9% of free float. Sentiment is negative but short positioning remains modest. Lucky Strike Entertainment carries a 47-day DTC — the longest of any sizable US stock — making any squeeze there explosive in theory.