ExxonMobil, Tesla, and Sunrun Among Most Shorted Stocks in October, Finds Hazeltree Shortside Crowdedness Report

In the Americas large-cap category, ExxonMobil was the most crowded, replacing Tesla after four consecutive months as the top shorted security

NEW YORK & LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ExxonMobil Corp. was the most shorted stock across large-cap securities in the Americas in October, according to the latest Shortside Crowdedness Report from Hazeltree, a leader in active treasury and intelligent operations technology for the alternative asset industry. The report is a monthly listing of the top 10 shorted securities in the Americas, EMEA, and APAC regions in the large-, mid-, and small-cap ranges.

During the month of October, the electric vehicle sector continued its hold in the report, while solar grew its position, with several stocks among the 10 most shorted in their categories based on their Hazeltree crowdedness score. In the Americas, this included Tesla (97) and Rivian Automotive (86) in the large-cap category, Lucid Inc. (92) in the mid-cap section, and Sunrun (99) and Sunnova Energy (95), as well as Fisker Inc. (80) in the small-cap group.

Other highlights from the October 2023 report include:

Americas

In the large-cap category, ExxonMobil Corp. was the most crowded with a score of 99, replacing Tesla (97) after four consecutive months as the top shorted security. Apple also was the third most shorted stock (94). Rivian Automotive had the highest institutional supply utilization (37.44%) for the fourth consecutive month.
In the mid-cap category, luxury electric vehicle maker, Lucid Inc, moved into the Shortside Report series with the highest institutional supply utilization (96.07%) and community borrow fee (9.50%). SOFI Technologies remained the most crowded security for the second consecutive month (99).
In the small-cap category, Sunrun Inc was the most crowded security (99), with Sunnova Energy a close second (95). Also notable, Fisker Inc. displayed the highest institutional supply utilization (100%) and community borrow fee (36.13%).

EMEA

In the large-cap category, LVMH was the most crowded security for the second consecutive month (99), while Koninklijke Philips NV had the highest institutional supply utilization (25.72%).
In the mid-cap category, Fastighets AB was the most crowded security (99) and also had the highest institutional supply utilization (26.52%). Fastighets AB has been listed among the top shorted securities in this category since June.
In the small-cap category, NEL ASA was the most crowded security (99) for the third consecutive month. Also notable was Atos SE with the highest institutional supply utilization rate (97.43%) and the highest community borrow fee (3.08%).

APAC

In the large-cap category, Advantest was the most crowded security (99), while Nitori Holdings led in institutional supply utilization (14.24%).
In the mid-cap category, Rakuten Group was the most crowded security (99), rising from a crowdedness score of 90 in September. Pibara Minerals Ltd. stood out with the highest institutional supply utilization (68.93%), as did Taiwan Cement Corp. with the highest community borrow fee (6.59%).
In the small-cap category, Lotte Energy Materials Corp, Flat Grass Group, and Money Forward were the most crowded securities, each with a score of 99. Lotte Energy Materials Corp led in institutional supply utilization (75.80%) and was closely followed by Kakao Games Corp (75.66%), which also had the highest community borrow fee (4.79%).

“This report provides a unique and compelling view into what’s happening in the markets right now, and includes both physical and swap transactions,” said Stephanie Miller, CEO of Hazeltree. “Hazeltree’s data is unique in that it presents an alternative view of how widely spread shorting activity is. This is sourced from a large community of alternative asset managers in the Americas, EMEA, and APAC.”

The Shortside Crowdedness Report tracks shorting activity in three different metrics:

Hazeltree Crowdedness Score: This score represents securities that are being shorted by the highest percentage of funds in Hazeltree’s community in a pre-defined category. The securities are graded on a scale of 1-99, with 99 representing the security that the highest percentage of funds are shorting.

Institutional Supply Utilization: This figure represents the percentage of the institutional investors’ supply of a particular security that is being lent out. The institutional supply utilization rate is an indicator of how “hot” a security is in terms of the supply-demand dynamic. It is possible to see 100% utilization of a security’s availability, making it difficult to establish new short positions.

Hazeltree Community Borrow Fee: This figure is the average weighted fee for what funds in the Hazeltree community are paying to borrow a security. The fee is represented as the annualized cost calculated as a percentage of the price of the security.

The data contained in the report comes from Hazeltree’s proprietary securities finance platform data, which tracks approximately 12,000 global equities across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. The data is aggregated and anonymized from the contributing Hazeltree community, which includes approximately 700 asset manager funds.

To view Hazeltree’s October Shortside Crowdedness Report and past reports, click here.

Note to editors: If you are a member of the media/press and would like to be included on the distribution list for this report, please contact hazeltree@backbaycommunications.com.

About Hazeltree

Hazeltree is a leader in active treasury and intelligent operations technology. Purpose-built for the alternative asset management ecosystem, Hazeltree’s modular platform aggregates internal and external data, providing a comprehensive view of operations and counterparty relationships while proactively highlighting opportunities to extract more value from every transaction. Hazeltree is headquartered in New York with offices in London and Hong Kong.

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