Bears Pile Into Chewy, Hertz as Chip Shorts Unwind

Short sellers made dramatic moves this week. Chewy saw the biggest jump — SI % of free float leapt to 81.2%, up from 65.8% just seven days ago. That's a 15-point spike in a week. Bears are betting hard on the pet retailer amid slowing consumer spending.

Hertz is not far behind. SI hit 78.6%, rising 8.4 points over the same period. Availability of shares to borrow has dropped to zero, making new short positions almost impossible to open. Cost to borrow sits near 1.5%.

Groupon also attracted fresh short interest. SI climbed to 74.1% from 65.6%. Availability is paper-thin at just 3.5% of SI.

Wolfspeed remains the most extreme name. SI stands at 118.8% of free float — technically more short interest than tradeable shares. Zero shares available to borrow. CTB runs near 9.6%. The semiconductor stock has surged 162% over three months, creating painful conditions for short sellers.

On the flip side, Super Micro Computer saw shorts retreat. SI fell from 19.6% to 16.4% this week. With chip stocks broadly selling off on AI spending concerns, covering may have accelerated.

Tesla and Palantir shorts also trimmed positions, with SI dipping slightly to 2.5% and 3.3% respectively. Neither is under meaningful short pressure.