Bears Pile In: Biotech and Quantum Stocks in Focus

Short sellers are adding pressure in several corners of the market this Saturday. BRVE (Braveheart Bio) stands out as the week's sharpest US mover. Its SI % of FF jumped to 43.5%, up 6.7 percentage points in seven days. That is a notable build for a mid-cap biotech with a $1.4B market cap.

WOLF (Wolfspeed) remains the most crowded US semiconductor short. Bears hold 88.9% of its free float, essentially unchanged on the week. The stock has fallen 26% in three months and cost-to-borrow sits at a moderate 2%. Shares available to borrow have hit zero, leaving new short sellers with nowhere to go.

HTZ (Hertz) stays heavily shorted at 73.4% of free float. Its borrow rate is an eyewatering 128%. With availability at zero, the squeeze risk is real but has not yet triggered.

LCID (Lucid Group) carries 66.1% SI % of FF. Shorts are barely moving, up just 1 point on the week. The EV maker's borrow rate is 14.6%, and barely any shares remain to borrow.

On the quantum computing side, QBTS heads into earnings with shorts trapped and borrow exhausted. SI sits at 22% of FF. CRWV (CoreWeave) reports Monday. Bears hold 26.3% of its float. Both stocks are generating heavy social media attention ahead of their prints.

MGM Resorts saw short interest creep up 2.3 points to 14.3% this week. It is one of the few large-cap consumer names seeing a meaningful build right now.

US nonfarm payrolls hit a record October high since 1997 this month. A strong labour market could weigh further on beaten-down consumer shorts like HTZ if spending holds up.