Chevron Joins Tesla as Most Shorted Large-Cap Security in March, Finds Hazeltree Shortside Crowdedness Report

Chevron and Tesla topped the Americas large-cap list for most shorted stocks in March, 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 also found LVMH and Toyota continued their hold as the top shorted large-cap stocks in their respective regions of EMEA and APAC.

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. The data comes from Hazeltree's proprietary securities finance platform data, which tracks approximately 15,000 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.

"There appears to be some interesting shorting activity in the Americas small-cap sector in March," said Tim Smith, managing director of data insights at Hazeltree. "We saw a number of newcomers in the Americas small-cap category, including AMC Entertainment, Air Transportation Services, Gogo Inc., and Trupanion, all with Hazeltree Crowdedness Scores of 99."

Highlights from the March 2024 report include:

Americas

• In the large-cap category, Chevron and Tesla were the most crowded securities, each with a score of 99, while Charter Communications had the highest institutional supply utilization (20.44%).
• In the mid-cap category, Wayfair topped the list, with a Hazeltree Crowdedness Score of 99, moving up from the last spot the prior month, ranking 87 on February's Shortside Report. Choice Hotels International (65.52%) and SOFI (65.48%) were nearly tied in institutional supply utilization.
• In the small-cap category, eight securities led the list of most crowded, ousting long-ranking energy securities, each with a score of 99. This included newcomers Air Transport Services, AMC Entertainment, Gogo, Model N Inc., Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, and Trupanion. They joined Cheesecake Factory and Sabre, which moved up from 77 and 81, respectively, the prior month. AMC Entertainment had the highest institutional supply utilization (81.52%).

EMEA

• In the large-cap category, luxury goods conglomerate LVMH was the most crowded security (99), while retailer H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB had the highest institutional supply utilization (47.18%).
• In the mid-cap category, French rail manufacturer Alstom was the most crowded security (99) and had the highest institutional supply utilization (71.24%).
• In the small-cap category, Irish video game company Keywords Studio plc was the most crowded security for the second consecutive month (99). Norwegian renewable energy company NEL ASA had the highest institutional supply utilization (86.86%).

APAC

• In the large-cap category, Toyota was the most crowded security for the second consecutive month (99). Banking group Resona Holdings and Japanese telecommunications operator KDDI Corp were tied in institutional supply utilization (23.17%).
• In the mid-cap category, Yamaha was the most crowded security (99). Japanese transportation company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd stood out with the highest institutional supply utilization (43.65%).
• In the small-cap category, Furukawa Electric was the most crowded security for the second consecutive month, with a score of 99. Aozora Bank had the highest institutional supply utilization (90.48%).

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.

To view Hazeltree's March Shortside Crowdedness Report and past reports, click here.

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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.