Bears Swarm SpaceX, Hertz Hit Hard

Short sellers have been busy this week. SPCX — Space Exploration Technologies — saw the sharpest surge among sizeable names. Its short interest as a % of free float jumped to 36.4%, up from just 3.7% a month ago. That's a 32.8 percentage-point spike in 30 days. Availability of shares to borrow sits at near-zero, at just 0.16% of SI. Bears are piling in fast.

HTZ (Hertz) remains one of Wall Street's most punished names. SI hit 65.4% of free float, up from 46.9% a month ago. There are literally zero shares available to borrow now. The stock is down over 62% in three months.

On the chip front, WOLF (Wolfspeed) tells a different story. SI fell sharply — from 103.9% to 78.6% over the past month. Short sellers are covering. That's a 25-point drop. With chips in the news amid a Nasdaq selloff, watch this one closely.

SMCI (Super Micro Computer) also saw modest short covering, with SI down to 17% from 18.5%. Bears eye chips broadly, per market news, but appear cautious on SMCI after the stock has been volatile.

Among the biggest ORTEX short scores, GALT (Galectin Therapeutics) stands out. SI sits at a massive 76.6% of free float, with a short score of 90. The stock has rallied 64% in three months — a potential squeeze setup.

RNG (RingCentral) is also worth watching. SI rose 2.9 points in just seven days to 15.1%.