Bears Load Up on MGM and Chips as Wolfspeed Stays in the Cross-Hairs

Short sellers added pressure to MGM Resorts International this week. The casino operator's short interest rose to 14.3% of free float, up from 12.1% seven days ago. That 2.3 percentage point jump is the biggest move among liquid US names tracked by ORTEX.

Wolfspeed, the embattled silicon carbide chipmaker, remains one of the most shorted stocks in the market. Bears hold 88.9% of its free float short. The position has barely shifted in a week, suggesting sellers have no intention of covering yet. The stock has dropped 26% over three months.

1-800-FLOWERS.COM saw the biggest short covering of the week. Bears trimmed 2 percentage points off a position that still stands at 74% of free float. With 24.8 days to cover, any rally could force a painful squeeze.

Hertz Global Holdings holds the second-largest short position among names with meaningful market caps, at 73.4% of free float. Its cost to borrow stands at 128%, reflecting intense demand to short the rental car company.

Lucid Group sits at 66% short, with 16.2 days to cover. The EV maker's stock has fallen 57% over three months. ORTEX news flagged chip stocks drawing heavy bearish bets this week, though megacap names like NVIDIA and AMD remain lightly shorted at around 1 to 2% of free float.

US payrolls hit a record October high since 1997 this month, with 159,293 thousand jobs. Strong labour data tends to lift rate expectations, adding pressure to high-short, cash-burning names like Lucid and Wolfspeed.

Polestar reports earnings on 12 November. ORTEX alt data shows Dutch car registrations running 68% below the same quarter last year, a dataset that leads Polestar revenue with a strong fit.