Bears Zero In on Chewy, Hertz and Lucid

Short sellers are pushing hard into a handful of well-known names. CHWY stands out as the most shorted large-cap stock in the US market.

Chewy's short interest hit 86.7% of free float as of 22 October. That is down from a peak of 92.2% on 14 October, a small retreat but still an extreme level. Bears have built the position steadily since late September, when SI stood near 65%. The cost to borrow is just 0.4%, meaning the trade is cheap to hold.

HTZ tells a different story. Hertz sits at 72.3% short interest with a cost to borrow of 191%. That is one of the most expensive borrow rates in the market. Short sellers are paying dearly to stay in, yet the position has barely moved in a month.

LCID is moving in the opposite direction. Lucid's SI has climbed from 58.6% on 2 October to 64.7% by 22 October. The stock is down 44% over three months. Borrow costs stand at 24%.

EVCM carries the highest short score in the dataset at 95.9. Its cost to borrow is 99% APR and availability of shares to borrow is just 12.5%.

NEE warrants a watch. ORTEX alt data shows NextEra's nuclear reactor output ran 10 standard deviations below its own history as of 20 October, the sharpest deviation on record in NRC data. Short interest there remains modest, but the operational anomaly is notable heading into earnings season.