Bears Pile In: Movers, Squeezes and a Chip Shocker

Short sellers made aggressive moves over the five days to 28 October. Several micro-cap stocks saw their short interest more than double. The biggest jump belonged to FRGT, where SI % of free float leapt from 117% to 326%.

TRUG and GCTK were close behind. TruGolf's SI surged from 23% to 153%. GlucoTrack jumped from 18% to 124%. Both are tiny, thinly traded names, which makes the moves harder to execute and the squeeze risk real.

Among mid-cap names, WOLF stands out. Wolfspeed carries 88% SI % of free float, with 9.6 days to cover and zero shares available to borrow. That combination leaves short sellers with nowhere to run if a catalyst hits.

HTZ shows similar stress. Hertz sits at 73% SI with a cost to borrow of 32%. Days to cover is 7.4. Hertz's EPS estimate momentum has slipped 5.9% over the past month, pointing to fundamental pressure that may be keeping bears committed.

On the midsize SI-change list, TLN caught the eye. Talen Energy's short interest doubled in five days, from 5.5% to 10.7%. Talen is a power generator with data-centre exposure, a theme drawing both bulls and bears right now.

Also notable: CBRS, Cerebras Systems, saw SI climb from 15% to 20% of free float. The AI chip maker's short interest is building as the Russell 2000 December review approaches. ORTEX Index Rebalance Radar flags tomorrow's close as the rank date, with about 45 addition candidates still in play.

On the Russell front, Twist Bioscience (TWST) saw its deletion probability jump overnight from 55% to 80%. That implies $1.5 billion of forced selling if confirmed. VSAT moved from 47% to 80% deletion odds, with $1.3 billion of potential selling pressure.