Short sellers moved aggressively into two high-profile names this week. RDDT saw its short interest jump to 17.4% of free float — up 3.6 percentage points in just seven days. Bearish pressure on the social media platform is rising fast as the stock carries a $22B market cap. PAYC also drew fresh shorts, climbing from 8.3% to 11.5% of FF over the same period — a 3.2 pp surge for the $10B payroll software firm.
The biggest mover by raw percentage was PURR (Hyperliquid Strategies), where SI leapt from 17.3% to 27.2% — nearly a 10 pp spike in a week.
On the flip side, WOLF — Wolfspeed — saw its massive short position ease slightly. SI fell from 84.2% to 78.3% of FF, though it remains one of the most crowded shorts in the US market. The semiconductor company has shed over 64% in three months.
FLWS (1-800-Flowers) and (Groupon) sit at 76% and 72% short interest respectively — extreme levels that could fuel violent squeezes on any positive catalyst.
REPL (Replimune) is another name bears are loading up on. SI hit 40.7% of FF, adding 2.8 pp this week, even as the stock commands a $1.4B market cap.
With chip stocks volatile and macro uncertainty lingering, short positioning is shifting fast — watch the Reddit and Paycom builds closely.
Data as of August 24, 2026. Not financial advice.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
