Bears Pile In: HTZ, CHWY Lead Short Surge

Short sellers turned aggressive this week. Hertz Global Holdings and Chewy stand out as the biggest movers among larger-cap names.

HTZ now sits at 75% SI % of FF — up nearly 5 percentage points in just seven days. Shares available to borrow have dried up completely (0% availability). That squeeze fuel is building.

CHWY climbed to 72.4% SI % of FF, adding 5.8 points over the same period. Bears clearly aren't done with the pet retailer, despite its $4.8B market cap.

The biggest shock came from Columbia Financial. Short interest jumped 22 percentage points in a week — from 5.3% to 27.6%. That's a massive, sudden move in a regional bank.

Wolfspeed remains a standout structural short. SI hits 80.2% of free float. Availability is zero. Cost to borrow sits at 6.6%. The semiconductor maker has shed 70% over three months, yet bears keep adding.

Lucky Strike Entertainment carries the worst squeeze risk among mid-caps. Days-to-cover hits 47, with a CTB of 23.5% and only 41% availability.

In biotech, BridgeBio Pharma is attracting attention. Its put/call ratio hit 1.24 — four standard deviations above its 20-day average — ahead of a July 31 earnings print. Watch for volatility.

Mega-caps remain lightly shorted. NVDA, AAPL, and META all sit below 2.7% SI % of FF. Bears are not fighting the AI rally.

This is not financial advice.