Tesla tops list of most heavily shorted securities in September, Hazeltree says

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) regained its position as the most heavily shorted security in the Americas in September, according to the latest Shortside Crowdedness Report from Hazeltree.

The Austin, Texas-based EV maker topped the list as the most crowded security in the large-cap category with a score of 99, moving up from second position in August (97). The Hazeltree Crowdedness Score represents securities that are being shorted by the highest percentage of funds in Hazeltree’s community.

As of Sep 30, traders sold 74.33M shares of TSLA short, representing 2.33% of the float.

“It is notable to see that Tesla regained its position as the top shorted large-cap stock in the Americas, a position which, until July, it had held for nearly every month since we’ve launched the report,” said Tim Smith, managing director of data insights at Hazeltree.

On Semiconductor (NASDAQ:ON) was a close second, followed by Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX), all of which scored 96. Chevron (CVX), which had been the most crowded security in this category in August, dropped to the fourth spot this time.

Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) had the highest institutional supply utilization (12.83%) – an indicator of how “hot” a security is in terms of the supply demand dynamic. Tractor Supply (TSCO) had a short interest of 7M shares as of Sep 30, representing 6.51% of the float.

In the mid-cap category, Bloom Energy (BE) and Shift4 Payments (FOUR) were the most crowded securities, each with a Hazeltree Crowdedness Score of 99. Wolfspeed (WOLF) continued its hold as the most crowded security in the small-cap category.

These were the top 10 most shorted large-cap securities in the Americas in September, according to Hazeltree:

#1 Tesla (TSLA): Hazeltree Crowdedness Score of 99

#2 On Semiconductor (ON): Hazeltree Crowdedness Score of 96

#3 Western Digital (WDC): Hazeltree Crowdedness Score of 96

#4 Chevron (CVX): Hazeltree Crowdedness Score of 96

#5 Caterpillar (CAT): Hazeltree Crowdedness Score of 93

#6 Deere &Company (DE): Hazeltree Crowdedness Score of 93

#7 Live Nation Entertainment (LYV): Hazeltree Crowdedness Score of 89

#8 IBM (IBM): Hazeltree Crowdedness Score of 89

#9 Church & Dwight (CHD): Hazeltree Crowdedness Score of 86

#10 Tractor Supply Company (TSCO): Hazeltree Crowdedness Score of 86