Short sellers reduce tech exposure, Hazeltree reports
22 April 2025 US
Image: fadi/stock.adobe.com
There has been a notable rotation out of technology, as the number of names among the top 10 most crowded shorted large-cap securities fell from eight in February to five in March, according to a recent Hazeltree report.
The Shortside Crowdedness Report is a monthly listing of the top 10 shorted securities in the Americas, EMEA, and APAC, split into large, mid, and small-cap categories.
Tim Smith, managing director of data insights at Hazeltree, says: 鈥淲e observed signs of the threat of tariffs being telegraphed to the markets during March.
鈥淥ur analysis of shorting activity in the Americas suggests that short sellers began reducing their tech exposure in anticipation of the full implementation of tariffs 鈥� a potential sign of early repositioning. We also saw short interest broaden beyond technology into sectors like financial services, retail, energy, semiconductors, and telecom.鈥�
In the large-cap category, Super Micro Computer emerged as the most crowded security in the Americas with the highest institutional supply utilisation.
Chevron Corporation, on the other hand, dropped to second place after holding the title of the most crowded security for two consecutive months.
In EMEA, Kering kept the position for the third month, while H&M had the highest institutional supply utilisation for the ninth month.
Disco Corporation was one of the most crowded securities in APAC for the third consecutive month, with Nongfu Spring having the highest institutional supply utilisation.
Shift4 Payments ascended to the top of the mid-cap category in the Americas, while JetBlue Airways Corporation succeeded Wolfspeed following seven months at the top of the small-cap category.
In EMEA, the mid-cap category was dominated by Kingfisher, while APAC saw a tie between Lasertec Corporation and Kokusai Electric Corporation in the same category.
Alphawave IP Group topped the list in the small-cap category in EMEA for the fourth consecutive month.
The same category saw a tie between Hisense Home Appliances Group Co., Osaka Soda Co., and Money Forward in APAC.
The aggregated and anonymised data comes from the contributing Hazeltree community, which includes around 700 asset manager funds.
Hazeltree Crowdedness Score is a metric that grades securities on a scale of 1 to 99, highlighting those most targeted by investors and reflecting key demand and supply dynamics.
The Shortside Crowdedness Report is a monthly listing of the top 10 shorted securities in the Americas, EMEA, and APAC, split into large, mid, and small-cap categories.
Tim Smith, managing director of data insights at Hazeltree, says: 鈥淲e observed signs of the threat of tariffs being telegraphed to the markets during March.
鈥淥ur analysis of shorting activity in the Americas suggests that short sellers began reducing their tech exposure in anticipation of the full implementation of tariffs 鈥� a potential sign of early repositioning. We also saw short interest broaden beyond technology into sectors like financial services, retail, energy, semiconductors, and telecom.鈥�
In the large-cap category, Super Micro Computer emerged as the most crowded security in the Americas with the highest institutional supply utilisation.
Chevron Corporation, on the other hand, dropped to second place after holding the title of the most crowded security for two consecutive months.
In EMEA, Kering kept the position for the third month, while H&M had the highest institutional supply utilisation for the ninth month.
Disco Corporation was one of the most crowded securities in APAC for the third consecutive month, with Nongfu Spring having the highest institutional supply utilisation.
Shift4 Payments ascended to the top of the mid-cap category in the Americas, while JetBlue Airways Corporation succeeded Wolfspeed following seven months at the top of the small-cap category.
In EMEA, the mid-cap category was dominated by Kingfisher, while APAC saw a tie between Lasertec Corporation and Kokusai Electric Corporation in the same category.
Alphawave IP Group topped the list in the small-cap category in EMEA for the fourth consecutive month.
The same category saw a tie between Hisense Home Appliances Group Co., Osaka Soda Co., and Money Forward in APAC.
The aggregated and anonymised data comes from the contributing Hazeltree community, which includes around 700 asset manager funds.
Hazeltree Crowdedness Score is a metric that grades securities on a scale of 1 to 99, highlighting those most targeted by investors and reflecting key demand and supply dynamics.
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