The average short interest in the S&P 500 Health Care Index Sector (NYSEARCA:XLV) dipped slightly in July to 1.95% from 1.96% in June. However, Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) held its position as the sector’s most heavily shorted stock, despite the overall softening of negative sentiment.
The healthcare sector, represented by the Health Care Select Sector SPDR® Fund ETF (NYSEARCA:XLV) and holding a weightage of 12.12% in the S&P 500 index, has slipped 2.62% year-to-date. This underperforms the broader S&P 500 index (SP500), which has risen 9.98% over the same period.
Stocks with the largest and least short positions
Ranked by short interest as a percentage of shares float
Seeking Alpha (Seeking Alpha) 
Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) remained the most heavily shorted stock in the sector, with short interest at 18.29% of its float, a decrease from 19.15% the previous month. Despite the high short position, Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating gives the stock a “Hold” with a score of 2.64 out of 5.
“Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) reported a sharp decline in revenue for Q2 2025, earning only $0.1 billion and experiencing a net loss of $0.8 billion. The stock has dropped over 70% in the past year due to investor concerns regarding ongoing losses and reduced demand for COVID vaccines. Despite recent product approval, the company anticipates significant losses in 2025. However, with a strong cash position of $7.5 billion, a revenue recovery is possible through opportunities in vaccines and oncology,” a Seeking Alpha analyst wrote.
In July, DaVita (NYSE:DVA) claimed the second spot for highest short interest at 8.99%, just ahead of Henry Schein (NASDAQ:HSIC) at 7.45%.
On the other end, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) had the lowest short interest at 0.71%, followed by Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) at 0.85% and AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) at 0.86%.
Industry Analysis
Average short interest as a percentage of floating shares
Seeking Alpha (Seeking Alpha) 
In July, biotechnology remained the most heavily shorted industry within the healthcare index for the 16th consecutive month, with short interest ticking up to 2.99% from June’s 2.95%. The healthcare provider and services sector also saw a significant increase in short interest, rising to the second-highest level at 2.61%, up from 2.07% in June.
In contrast, the pharmaceuticals’ industry stood out with the lowest short interest, which fell to 1.56% for the month.
Related ETFs: Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLV), SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF (NYSEARCA:XPH), VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (NASDAQ:PPH), iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ:IBB), iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (NYSEARCA:IHE), and Invesco Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ:IBBQ).