The ‘battleground’ stocks shorted by hedge funds but owned by many long-only portfolios

Jefferies updated its “Battleground” portfolio that’s populated by stocks shorted by hedge funds while owned by many long-only investors, publishing the roundup Wednesday from recently released data.

The equity research team at Jefferies looked at hedge fund holdings through May 31, and for its Battleground portfolio, it found “more changes” than normal, with five additions and deletions. The deletions were (XOM), (JPM), (WFC), (STZ) and (RTX).

“One of the many reasons why the equity market has struggled recently could be that Hedge Funds reduced their risk exposure,” as hedge funds came into summer trading with their highest equity exposure since January 2023, Jefferies analyst Steven DeSanctis said.

The Battleground portfolio has nine sectors represented, with Tech (XLK) the favorite to short with six names, followed by Discretionary (XLY) and Energy (XLE), with three names each.

Here’s Jefferies’ list of “Battleground” stocks which includes the additions of (NASDAQ:ADI), (NASDAQ:FANG), (NYSE:CI), (NYSE:PG), and (NYSE:FI):

• Chevron (NYSE:CVX). Net short weight: -3. Percent of all mutual funds: 9.9%
• Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA). Net short weight: -2.7. Percent of all mutual funds: 14.3%
• Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN). Net short weight: -2.2. Percent of all mutual funds: 12%
• Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW). Net short weight: -1.7. Percent of all mutual funds: 12.4%
• Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI). Net short weight: -1.7. Percent of all mutual funds: 10.9%
• Microchip Tech (NASDAQ:MCHP). Net short weight: -1.7. Percent of all mutual funds: 9.0%
• Floor & Decor (NYSE:FND). Net short weight: -1.5. Percent of all mutual funds: 8.7%
• T-Mobile US (NASDAQ:TMUS). Net short weight: -1.5. Percent of all mutual funds: 9.0%
• Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS). Net short weight: -1.2. Percent of all mutual funds: 9.4%
• Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT). Net short weight: -1.2. Percent of all mutual funds: 8.0%
• ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ:ON). Net short weight: -1.2. Percent of all mutual funds: 9.3%
• ATI (NYSE:ATI). Net short weight: -1.1. Percent of all mutual funds: 9.3%
• PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP). Net short weight: -1. Percent of all mutual funds: 11.0%
• Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO). Net short weight: -1. Percent of all mutual funds: 8.6%
• Analog Devices (ADI). Net short weight: -0.8. Percent of all mutual funds: 9.1%
• Diamondback Energy (FANG). Net short weight: -0.7. Percent of all mutual funds: 11.9%
• Cigna (CI). Net short weight: -0.7. Percent of all mutual funds: 9.0%
• EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG). Net short weight: -0.7. Percent of all mutual funds: 9.8%
• Procter & Gamble (PG). Net short weight: -0.6. Percent of all mutual funds: 12.9%
• Fiserv (FI). Net short weight: -0.6. Percent of all mutual funds: 10.0%

Tags: JPM