Short sellers drove notable positioning shifts across US mid-caps this week. The moves echo bearish options-style risk-building — even as live options API data remains temporarily unavailable.
WOLF leads the pack. Wolfspeed's short interest hit 98.2% of free float, up nearly 5 percentage points in seven days. Availability collapsed to zero. That squeeze risk is extreme.
COLM saw a sharp 3.6 percentage point jump in short interest. Columbia Sportswear now sits at 16% SI of free float. Tariff headwinds and weak consumer spending are likely driving the thesis.
WIX carries 30.4% short interest, up 2.8 points on the week. Availability sits at just 30% of SI — borrowing is tightening fast.
Macro backdrop adds fuel. UK gilt yields posted their biggest weekly drop since 2023. Iran tensions kept oil elevated. Both factors are feeding broader defensive positioning in derivatives markets.
SpaceX and OpenAI IPO chatter is injecting speculative flow into tech. Short sellers appear to be front-running that froth with fresh bearish bets across high-multiple names.
CHWY and round out the most actively shorted risers, at 53.1% and 29.1% of free float respectively.
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.
