Palo Alto Networks, Cloudflare and IBM also made the list.
Technology stocks, which have been on fire in recent months, dominated the list of the most shorted stocks in July, according to the Hazeltree Shortside Crowdedness Report. The list also included casino stock MGM Resorts.
The Hazeltree report comes out monthly, listing the most shorted stocks by hedge fund managers. It affords retail investors an opportunity to spot the trends that are driving portfolio decisions by institutional investors. When investors short a stock, it generally means that they are looking to take advantage of what they expect to be short-term volatility.
In July, 5 technology stocks were listed among the 10 most shorted large-cap stocks. This may be due to the fact that technology stocks in general have surged in recent months, so perhaps hedge fund managers see some short-term pullback in some names, for a variety of reasons.
Palo Alto, Cloudflare crack the top 10
While there are some tech names that have appeared on the list more recently, there are a couple of notable new entrants, including cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) and internet enhancer Cloudflare (NYSE:NET). It is the first time either of these tech giants have appeared on the list this year.
Here are the 10 most shorted large caps in the US by crowdedness score, which represents the percentage of managers in Hazeltree’s universe that is shorting the stock.
- Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV), the event promoter, with a score of 99.
- Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI), the server developer with a score of 94.
- Hims and Hers Health (NYSE:HIMS), the healthcare company with a score of 88.
- Kraft Heinz (NYSE:KHC), the food company with a score of 82.
- Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) with a score of 82.
- Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) with a score of 79.
- IBM (NYSE:IBM) the computer and cloud provider with a score of 79.
- Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD), the chemical firm with a score of 79.
- Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), the Bitcoin buyer and analytics software firm with a score of 79.
- Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR), the industrial equipment provider with a score of 79.
“Short sellers have actively returned to tech in the Americas, with Hazeltree data showing an uptick in half of the top 10 names,” Tim Smith, managing director of data insights at Hazeltree, said.
MGM is among most shorted midcaps
The 10 most shorted midcap stocks includes resort and casino leader MGM (NYSE:MGM. MGM stock is up 11% year-to-date and has a reasonable valuation with a P/E of around 20. But with Las Vegas tourism slowing, perhaps institutional investors see some volatility ahead.
MGM was tied for fourth on the list with a score of 87. Other notable midcaps on the list are:
- EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS), the mobile and internet provider with a score of 99.
- VF Corp (NYSE:VFC), the footwear and apparel company with a score of 95.
- Conagra (NYSE:CAG), the food company with a score of 95.
- WingStop (NASDAQ:WING), the chicken wing restaurant with a score of 91.
- Campbell’s (NASDAQ:CFB), the soup maker with a score of 91.
The three most shorted small caps in July were Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO), Cipher Mining (NASDAQ:CIFR), and Hertz Global (NASDAQ:HTZ) with scores of 99 each.
