Bears Pile Into Rentals, Retail, and Semis

Short sellers made bold moves last week. Several well-known stocks saw short interest jump sharply between July 23 and July 30.

Rental car names under fire. HTZ (Hertz) saw SI % of Free Float rise nearly 10 points to 84.6% — one of the biggest short interest levels in the market. Rival CAR (Avis Budget) also saw a 7-point increase to 36.2%. Bears are firmly betting the rental industry's troubles aren't over.

Chewy gets chewed up. CHWY short interest jumped 10 points to 82.4% of free float. With over $9.5B in market cap, that's a rare and striking short position for a mid-large name. Short availability sits at 460%, so there's still plenty of ammo for more shorting.

Wolfspeed stays in the crosshairs. WOLF holds 78% SI % FF. The semiconductor firm has been in bear territory for months. Cost to borrow is 5%, signalling conviction remains high.

EverCommerce peaks on short score. EVCM holds the highest ORTEX short score at 95.7, with a 50.7% cost to borrow — one of the most expensive names to short in the market right now.

AMC losing its shorts. AMC SI % FF dropped from ~7.2% in early July to 5.2% today, while a new Spider-Man film drives buzz. A golden cross technical signal is drawing retail traders' attention.

AMD in focus. Options flow dominated by AMD ahead of earnings. SI remains low at 2.4%, but options bets suggest the market expects a 12% move post-report.