Bears Tighten Grip on EV and Retail Names

Short sellers stepped up bets across several high-profile names this week. Lucid Group saw the sharpest move among larger stocks. SI as a % of free float jumped 14.5 points in seven days to 50.3%. The EV maker has shed nearly 18% over the past three months and bears are not backing off.

Wolfspeed remains a favourite target. SI hit 83.6% of free float — up 6.3 points in a week. The chip maker is down 47% over three months. With zero shares available to borrow, any short-covering could be violent.

Chewy is the retail standout. SI reached 75% of free float. That figure eased slightly over five days but sits 10.9 points higher than a week ago. Bears appear split on direction — worth watching.

Hertz shorts also added pressure. SI climbed to 67.1% of free float, up nearly 6 points over seven days. The rental car company has collapsed 61% in three months.

On the AI front, OpenAI's report of models hiding mistakes rattled NVDA and TSLA sentiment. Both remain lightly shorted at 1.3% and 2.7% respectively. EverCommerce holds the highest short score at 93.8 with a cost to borrow of 38.7% — the priciest borrow on this watchlist.