Hazeltree: Short sellers target tech firms and prestige brands
10 October 2025 Global
Image: Puckung/stock.adobe.com
Following a strong global equity performance, short sellers concentrated in technology stocks in the Americas and APAC, while EMEA saw more focus towards consumer names, according to Hazeltree, a provider of integrated treasury and liquidity management solutions.
Technology accounted for 26 per cent of sector representation among the most-crowded shorts in the Americas 鈥� including International Business Machines Corporation, Palo Alto Networks, ON Semiconductor Corporation, and Applied Materials 鈥� and 30 per cent in APAC.
In EMEA, consumer and luxury names made up 50 per cent of the list 鈥� including Kering, LVMH Mo毛t Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and EssilorLuxottica 鈥� as revealed by the Hazeltree September 2025 Shortside Crowdedness Report.
The report is a monthly listing of the top 10 most crowded shorted securities in the Americas, EMEA, and APAC regions, categorised by large, mid, and small-cap ranges.
Tim Smith, managing director of data insights at Hazeltree, says: 鈥淪eptember showed broadly positive developments 鈥� easing-rate hopes and resilient earnings. In the Americas, investor optimism returned amid expectations for 2026 rate cuts and ongoing AI enthusiasm.
鈥淣otably, Super Micro Computer dropped out of our large-cap top 10 after nine consecutive months, while consumer names dominated EMEA small and mid caps, and Japanese securities comprised the majority of APAC names drawing short-seller interest.鈥�
For September, Hazeltree revealed that technology company International Business Machines Corporation was the most crowded security in the large-cap category for the Americas.
Palo Alto Networks takes second place for the most crowded security at 96, while Super Micro Computer dropped out of the top 10 most crowded large caps for the first time this year and was displaced by Hims & Hers Health, following a run of nine consecutive months.
Further, the mid-cap category was led by Oscar Health, while Tripadvisor took the top spot for small-caps.
In the EMEA region, the large-cap category was led by both Antofagasta and Universal Music Group. For the mid-cap category, Davide Campari-Milano was the most crowded security, with HelloFresh leading the small-caps for the second consecutive month and third time this year.
The report also highlights the leaders in APAC, which for the large-cap category was Oriental Land for the fourth straight month and fifth time this year.
In the mid-cap category, Front Retailing Co., Kokusai Electric Corporation, and Tokyo Metro Co., displaced Nissin Foods Holdings as the most crowded securities, while Meiko Electronics took top spot for the small caps for the second month.
Hazeltree compiles data from its proprietary securities finance platform, which tracks approximately 15,000 global equities across the three regions.
糖心vlog are assigned a Hazeltree Crowdedness Score, a key metric that grades securities on a scale of 1 to 99, with 99 representing the highest concentration of shorting activity.
Technology accounted for 26 per cent of sector representation among the most-crowded shorts in the Americas 鈥� including International Business Machines Corporation, Palo Alto Networks, ON Semiconductor Corporation, and Applied Materials 鈥� and 30 per cent in APAC.
In EMEA, consumer and luxury names made up 50 per cent of the list 鈥� including Kering, LVMH Mo毛t Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and EssilorLuxottica 鈥� as revealed by the Hazeltree September 2025 Shortside Crowdedness Report.
The report is a monthly listing of the top 10 most crowded shorted securities in the Americas, EMEA, and APAC regions, categorised by large, mid, and small-cap ranges.
Tim Smith, managing director of data insights at Hazeltree, says: 鈥淪eptember showed broadly positive developments 鈥� easing-rate hopes and resilient earnings. In the Americas, investor optimism returned amid expectations for 2026 rate cuts and ongoing AI enthusiasm.
鈥淣otably, Super Micro Computer dropped out of our large-cap top 10 after nine consecutive months, while consumer names dominated EMEA small and mid caps, and Japanese securities comprised the majority of APAC names drawing short-seller interest.鈥�
For September, Hazeltree revealed that technology company International Business Machines Corporation was the most crowded security in the large-cap category for the Americas.
Palo Alto Networks takes second place for the most crowded security at 96, while Super Micro Computer dropped out of the top 10 most crowded large caps for the first time this year and was displaced by Hims & Hers Health, following a run of nine consecutive months.
Further, the mid-cap category was led by Oscar Health, while Tripadvisor took the top spot for small-caps.
In the EMEA region, the large-cap category was led by both Antofagasta and Universal Music Group. For the mid-cap category, Davide Campari-Milano was the most crowded security, with HelloFresh leading the small-caps for the second consecutive month and third time this year.
The report also highlights the leaders in APAC, which for the large-cap category was Oriental Land for the fourth straight month and fifth time this year.
In the mid-cap category, Front Retailing Co., Kokusai Electric Corporation, and Tokyo Metro Co., displaced Nissin Foods Holdings as the most crowded securities, while Meiko Electronics took top spot for the small caps for the second month.
Hazeltree compiles data from its proprietary securities finance platform, which tracks approximately 15,000 global equities across the three regions.
糖心vlog are assigned a Hazeltree Crowdedness Score, a key metric that grades securities on a scale of 1 to 99, with 99 representing the highest concentration of shorting activity.
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