Bears Pile Into Wolfspeed and Hertz as Shorts Cover Celanese

Short sellers are circling a cluster of distressed US names with fresh intensity. WOLF tops the list with 88% of its free float sold short. Zero shares are available to borrow. The cost to borrow sits at just 2.6%, suggesting the existing short base is well-entrenched and not under squeeze pressure.

HTZ is another standout. Hertz carries 73% short interest as a percentage of free float. Its cost to borrow has spiked to 317%, the highest among liquid US names on ORTEX data. Available shares to borrow have hit zero. That combination makes any further short buildup extremely difficult and raises squeeze risk.

LCID rounds out the most heavily shorted auto cluster. Short interest sits at 66% of free float. Availability is near zero at just 1.2%. The stock has lost 61% over the past three months.

PSNY is worth watching ahead of its quarterly report today. The EV maker carries a cost to borrow of 184%. ORTEX Alt Data tracking Dutch car registrations, a leading revenue indicator for Polestar, is running 68% below the same quarter last year. That adds weight to the bearish position.

On the covering side, CE saw the sharpest short retreat among larger US names over the past week. Short interest fell nearly 3 percentage points to 5.6% of free float. SABR dropped 2.9 points to 7.8%. NCLH also saw covers, with short interest slipping to 17.3% from 19.4%.

PRG saw its short interest climb 3.5 points to 12% of free float. Availability remains high at 438%, meaning bears can still build positions easily.

SharkNinja's probability of joining the S&P 500 at the December review jumped overnight to 64%, per ORTEX Index Rebalance Radar. Forced buying of $4.1 billion would follow a confirmed addition, equal to 11.2 days of normal volume.