Bears sharpened their claws this week. Short interest data from ORTEX signals rising defensive and bearish positioning across several mid-cap names, with options market dynamics following closely.
WOLF — Wolfspeed — stands out as the most extreme case. Short interest hit 98.2% of free float on May 21. That is up from 93.3% just seven days earlier. Cost to borrow has jumped to 12.38% APR. Crucially, availability is zero. There are no shares left to borrow. That combination — near-total float short, no availability — points to a severely stressed trade, with put options likely commanding a premium.
CHWY sits at 53.1% short interest of free float, up 2.5 points in a week. Availability remains high at 511%. Bears are adding but have room to grow.
COLM saw short interest climb 3.6 points to 16% in seven days. The consumer discretionary space is drawing fresh selling pressure.
Macro headlines are adding to skittish sentiment. Reports of SpaceX and OpenAI IPOs are driving speculative call-buying in related tech. Meanwhile, GME sits at 15.8% of free float short, and — Strategy Inc — carries 12.2% SI with cost to borrow at 0.42%. Both remain magnets for options activity on both sides.
SMCI is at 14.9% short. Availability is 197%, meaning supply is ample for new short positions.
This is not financial advice.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
