Hertz Burns Bears as HTZ Borrow Cost Hits 470%

HTZ is the name dominating short-seller desks this Friday. Borrow utilization hit 100% as of 5 November, capped at its 52-week high. Cost to borrow surged to 470%, up 214% in a single week. Availability has collapsed to zero. Short interest sits at 73.5% of free float.

That is a combustible setup. The stock has gained 45% over three months. Bears are trapped and paying an enormous daily fee to stay short.

EVCM holds the highest short score among mid-caps at 97. Its cost to borrow is 81%. Days to cover stand at 25. Availability is just 1.6% of short interest, leaving almost no room for new positions to be opened.

LCID remains a popular target. Short interest is 66% of free float. Borrow costs run at nearly 15%. The stock has lost half its value over three months, keeping bears on the right side for now, though a snap squeeze cannot be ruled out given the near-zero availability.

On the flip side, SMCI shorts are retreating. Short interest fell 45% in one week to 28.95 million shares, a sharp reversal after a surge through October. At 15.5% of free float, SMCI is still material, but the direction has changed.

BRVE saw the biggest five-day SI jump among US mid-caps: up 5.7 percentage points to 43.7% of free float. CAR (Avis Budget) also crept higher, to 32.2%, with the car rental sector broadly under pressure.

WOLF stays deeply shorted at 87.5% of free float with zero availability. That is a name where any positive catalyst would create significant covering pressure.