Bears Circle Semis, Hertz Into November

Options market sentiment turned negative on several heavily shorted names as November opened. Bears are leading the charge in semiconductors and beaten-down consumer names.

Wolfspeed carries a short score of 78 out of 100 and a days-to-cover of 9.6. Its RSI sits at just 39.6. Options expiries run through to January 2027. The stock is down 63% year-to-date: bears have not let up, and the options ladder shows continuous near-term positioning.

Hertz Global Holdings draws the sharpest short score in today's scan at 86. The rental giant is off 63% for 2026. Its DTC sits at 7.4 days. Options run out to at least January, giving shorts plenty of room to extend.

NVIDIA tells a different story. The short score is a modest 30, but analyst upside potential stands at 61% and the stock trades with a 14-day RSI of just 35. Puts dominate the near-term expiry ladder, with weekly contracts every two days through mid-November. That cluster of short-dated expiries points to traders bracing for a vol event.

Rocket Companies rounds out the watch list. Shares have fallen 34% in 2026. The short score is 60 and DTC sits at 8.7. Options flow has leaned negative.

Adding context to the semiconductor stress: ORTEX Alt Data shows Indian goods-vehicle registrations hit the lowest October on record. India new car registrations fell to 85,038, less than half the prior October record. That demand weakness bears on EV-adjacent chip names through the supply chain. Honda Motor reports November 6. ORTEX data shows Japanese car registrations running 10% below the same quarter last year, a dataset that leads Honda revenue by 65 days with a strong fit.

For index-watchers, Valaris faces $897M of forced selling if its acquisition by Transocean closes. An S&P MidCap 400 deletion announcement is expected November 23. That mechanically added pressure could amplify options positioning already visible in energy names.