Bears Pile In as Wolfspeed, FLWS and ARRY Hit New Highs

Short sellers stayed busy into the first week of November. Data as of 2 November shows several names attracting fresh positioning. The biggest structural story remains WOLF. Short interest on the semiconductor firm hit 88% of free float. Shares to borrow are essentially gone: availability sits at 0%. Bears clearly see no turnaround for the struggling SiC chipmaker.

FLWS, the gift retailer, is not far behind at 79% SI of free float. The stock is down 35% over three months and EPS momentum has collapsed 33% in a month.

Biggest Movers This Week

ARRY, the solar tracker maker, saw short interest climb to 30.8% of free float from 28.2% a week ago. That 2.6 percentage point rise was steady rather than sudden. It has been building since October.

PRG, the lease-to-own finance firm, jumped from 8.5% to 12.3% in seven days. That is a 3.85 percentage point move. Bears appear to be positioning ahead of a consumer credit story.

SHOE, Shoe Station Group, now carries 59.7% short interest, up 4.2 points on the week. The retailer has shed 35% over three months.

Shorts Covering

ABR, Arbor Realty Trust, saw the biggest cover of the week. SI fell 3.7 points to 19.1%, down steadily from above 25% in mid-October. Short sellers are reducing a position they built up through the summer.

LEVI also saw covering. Levi Strauss dropped from 13.2% to 10.8%. Shorts trimmed as the stock stabilised.

EverCommerce carries the highest short score in the screen at 97. SI stands at 15%, with a cost to borrow of 85%. Very little stock is available to borrow.

News Angle

CVS grabbed headlines overnight on reports it will split its pharmacy retail arm from its insurance and PBM operations. Its SI is just 1.2%, so this is a catalyst story rather than a short squeeze. Worth watching whether a restructuring draws new bearish interest in the retail unit.