Short interest across 1,145 ORTEX pulses this week told a split story. ETF shorts built fast in energy, Korea, and aerospace-defense, while a wave of micro-cap borrow markets seized up entirely. At the same time, several heavily-shorted names saw dramatic unwinds — led by a near-total collapse in AVR short interest after an FDA catalyst.
AVR — Shorts Flee After FDA Designation Short interest collapsed 99.8% in a single week, falling to just 5 shares outstanding. The stock rallied 40.3% after the FDA granted breakthrough designation to its DurAVR valve. Bears had nothing left to cover.
SHLD — Defense ETF Draws New Shorts SI surged 571% week-on-week to 0.79% of float. Availability remains ample at 485%, so the move reflects fresh positioning rather than a squeeze threat. The Global X Defense Tech ETF attracted bears despite strong sector tailwinds.
UFO — Space ETF Bears Build SI rose 85% in one week to 9.7% of float. Availability stands at 155% — plenty of borrow still exists. Rising utilization signals bears are leaning in, not backing off.
EWW — Mexico Shorts Pile In SI climbed 25.2% week-on-week to 7.72% of float. Availability has tightened to 75%. Trade and political uncertainty around Mexico is driving the build. Borrow costs sit at 1.50%.
SOXL — Semiconductor Bull ETF Shorts Retreat SI dropped 30% in one week to 2.8% of float, reversing a prior rebuilding phase. The 3x leveraged semiconductor ETF saw bears step back sharply. Availability remains comfortable at 196%.
HCWB — Borrow Market Seizes Up SI hits 19.3% of float. Cost to borrow stands at 735%. Availability has collapsed to zero. The convergence signal flagged a 647% short interest surge — the borrow market is fully locked.
NNE — Nuclear Energy Name Under Pressure SI stands at 26.3% of float with availability near zero at 3.2%. Borrow cost is 3.78%. The convergence alert noted maximum borrow stress as options turned bearish — a rare double-pressure signal.
UZX — Micro-Cap Borrow Explodes SI hits 43% of float. Cost to borrow surged to 436%. Availability is near zero at 5.8%. The convergence flagged a 509% short interest explosion. Borrow is effectively gone.
LCID — EV Bear Position Stays Elevated SI holds at 35.7% of float. Borrow cost is 11.4%. Availability is essentially gone at 0.1%. The convergence noted the borrow market is thawing slightly — but 19% SI keeps pressure firmly on.
Energy shorts rebuild. XLE SI hit 9.4% of float with availability crashing to just 11.7% — a near-maximum borrow constraint. A convergence alert confirmed the borrow pool hit maximum stress as shorts rebuilt fast. MNR — a natural resources LP — also flagged a borrow seizure, with availability at just 10%.
Biotech borrow dries up. XBI SI stands at a striking 121% of float — reflecting heavy synthetic short exposure across the ETF's constituent basket. Availability has collapsed to 10.6%. A convergence alert noted borrow hit near-zero as options sentiment flipped bullish — a classic tension setup.
Airlines under the microscope. JETS SI sits at 39.1% of float with borrow cost at 6.8%. Two separate convergence alerts fired on the same ticker this week — one flagging a new annual high in the borrow market, a second noting options bulls emerging as shorts retreated. The signal split suggests positioning flux.
Korea ETF borrow maxes out. EWY SI stands at 11.6% of float. Two convergence alerts fired: one as bears dug in with a maxed borrow market, a second as shorts began retreating — but borrow availability stayed dry at 90%. The tension between exiting shorts and a locked lending pool is a key watch for next week.
Aerospace-defense sees fresh short building. PPA SI rose 34% in a week to 0.07% of float. That is still a very low absolute level — availability is 835% — but the directional move is notable given the sector's recent strength.
Several high-severity signals fired where short interest, borrow costs, and options data aligned simultaneously.
NNE — Borrow at maximum stress. Options turned bearish. SI at 26.3% of float with near-zero availability. Bears are fully committed.
MNR — Borrow market seized up. Options traders turned bullish. With availability at 10%, any short-covering could accelerate sharply.
BTGO — Two convergence alerts in one week. First, borrow cost doubled as the lending pool stayed tight. Then options hedging spiked as the stock slid 32%. SI sits at 3.4% of float with availability at 47%.
IREN — Two competing signals. Bears doubled down as analysts raised targets. Then a second alert saw shorts pile in as borrow tightened. SI is now 20.2% of float — a significant build in a $20B market cap name.
EWY — Repeated convergence alerts on the South Korea ETF. Borrow maxed out even as some shorts retreated. SI at 11.6% of float. Watch for a resolution next week as one side capitulates.
HCWB — Borrow record extremes. SI exploded 647% per the convergence alert. With availability at zero and CTB at 735%, new short positions are effectively impossible to initiate at economic cost.
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.
