Bears Pile Into Homebuilder and Auto Names

Short sellers targeted homebuilders, pharma, and auto-adjacent plays over the past week, with several stocks seeing sharp jumps in borrowing demand.

Dream Finders Homes led the movers. Short interest as a percentage of free float jumped nearly 9 points in seven days, hitting 42.2%. That is a significant build for a homebuilder at a time when mortgage rates remain elevated and housing sentiment is fragile.

Liquidia Corporation was the second-biggest builder, with SI rising 8 points to 26.6% of free float. Cerebras Systems saw a 5-point rise to 20.1%, a notable move for a company that only recently listed.

Wolfspeed remains one of the most heavily shorted names on the market. SI sits at 88.6% of free float, up another 4.8 points on the week. The semiconductor firm has struggled with its transition to silicon carbide manufacturing.

Hertz carries 73.5% SI with a cost to borrow of 150%. Bears are paying dearly to stay in that trade.

Carvana sits at 9.4% SI, broadly flat on the week. But ORTEX alternative data flags a more pressing concern: auto-loan delinquencies in Carvana's ABS trusts were 4.6 standard deviations above their own historical average as of 15 October, the largest outlier reading in the consumer credit dataset. Options markets have also flagged auto-sector stress this week.

EverCommerce carries the highest short score at 97, with CTB at 75% and availability near zero. Shares are down 26% in three months.