Tesla Regains Position as Most Heavily Shorted Security in the Americas in September

LVMH sinks from top spot in EMEA while retail securities stand out across regions in September

NEW YORK and LONDON, October 10, 2024 – Tesla returns to its spot as the most crowded large-cap security in the Americas in September, 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 that H & M Hennes Mauritz AB replaced LVMH as the top shorted large-cap stock in EMEA, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Toyota overtook Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. as the top shorted large-cap stocks in 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.

“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. “In September, we also saw a trend in retail securities, such as Columbia Sportswear Company, Hermes International, Hugo Boss AG, LVMH, Salvatore Ferragamo SPA, and Fast Retailing Co. all appearing on our list of the most crowded short positions.”

Highlights from the September 2024 report include:

Americas

In the large-cap category, Tesla topped the list as the most crowded security with a score of 99. Tractor Supply Company had the highest institutional supply utilization (12.83%).

In the mid-cap category, Bloom Energy and Shift4 Payments were the most crowded securities, each with a Hazeltree Crowdedness Score of 99. MP Materials Group held the highest institutional supply utilization figure (82.29%).

In the small-cap category, Wolfspeed continued its hold as the most crowded security, with a score of 99. Novavax had the highest institutional supply utilization (48.40%).

EMEA

• In the large-cap category, H & M Hennes Mauritz AB emerged as the most crowded security, with a score of 99. LVMH, which had held the top spot since the start of the year, saw its crowdedness score drop to 84. H & M Hennes Mauritz AB also had the highest institutional supply utilization (69.62%).
• In the mid-cap category, Alstom maintained its position as the most crowded security (99). Hugo Boss had the highest institutional supply utilization (53.39%).
• In the small-cap category, Basic-Fit NV was the most crowded security, scoring 99. It also led in institutional supply utilization at 91.50%.

APAC

In the large-cap category, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Toyota stood out as the most crowded securities, each with a score of 99. Nissan Motor Corp had the highest institutional supply utilization (65.38%).

In the mid-cap category, Rohm Co. ranked as the most crowded security with a score of 99 and had the highest institutional supply utilization (42.91%).

In the small-cap category, Konica Minolta and Suruga Bank Ltd were the most crowded securities, each with a score of 99. Nxera Pharma Ltd had the highest institutional supply utilization (39.10%).

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 September 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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Media Contact: BackBay Communications hazeltree@backbaycommunications.com