Apple and MicroStrategy are among the most shorted stocks

Technology stocks were heavily shorted by hedge fund and alternative investment managers last month, according to Hazeltree, a financial data firm.

Hazeltree’s February 2025 Shortside Crowdedness Report listed Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Micron (NASDAQ:MU), and Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) among the top 5 most crowded, or shorted, large-cap U.S. stocks. Further, 8 of the 10 most shorted stocks were from the technology sector.

In developing its monthly list, Hazeltree examines the securities that are being shorted by the highest percentage of funds. It tracks 15,000 global equities, sourced from anonymized data within 700 asset manager funds. The stocks are graded on a scale of 1-99, with 99 representing the stock that the highest percentage of funds are shorting.

In February, an energy stock, Chevron (NYSE:CVX), was actually the most shorted large-cap name, with a crowdedness score of 99. Super Micro Computer, which has been dealing with internal controls issues and the threat of being delisted, was next at 91. Super Micro Computer was also second on the list in January.

Supermicro also had the highest institutional supply utilization percentage at 53.7%. The ISU rate is an indicator of how “hot” a security is in terms of the supply-demand dynamic.

After that, Apple, Micron, fintech SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI), and Capital One (NYSE:COF) were next with scores of 88.

The rest of the list is made up of tech stocks, including IBM (NYSE:IBM), MicroChip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP), Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN), and major Bitcoin holder MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR). They each had scores of 85.

Tough times for tech

The abundance of tech stocks on the list reflects the difficult market environment for the sector, with the Nasdaq Composite down 8.5% YTD.  

“Our February Shortside Crowdedness Report analysis shows the U.S. tech sector continued to see layoffs, though at a slower pace than last year, alongside a surge in job postings, low unemployment, and a contracting IT job market,” Tim Smith, managing director of data insights at Hazeltree, said. “This points to a market in transition — not collapse — as companies recalibrate talent strategies to align with shifting priorities and economic conditions. Tech remained a top target for short sellers in the Americas for the third consecutive month, with eight of the 10 most crowded large-cap securities.”

Among U.S. mid-cap stocks, Dayforce (NYSE:DAY) was the most shorted stock with a score of 99, while Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) held the highest institutional supply utilization rating at 35.9%.

In the small-cap category, Wolfspeed (NYSE:WOLF) remained the most crowded security for the seventh consecutive month, with a score of 99. Enovix (NASDAQ:ENVX) had the highest ISU rating at 85.9%.

In Europe, Kering SA and H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB were the most shorted stocks with scores of 99. This is the second straight month for Kering atop the list. H&M had the highest ISU score at 76.3% — the eighth straight month it has done that.

In the mid-cap category, Kingfisher plc, BE Semiconductor Industries NV and Delivery Hero SE were the most crowded securities with scores of 99. Carl Zeiss Meditec AG had the highest ISU score at 51.2%.

Finally, among small-caps Alphawave IP Group plc was the most crowded security for the third straight month with a score of 99. Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC had the highest institutional supply utilization rating at 74.1%.