Hedge funds increased exposure to leading technology names during April’s equity rally, reinforcing a risk-on stance despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and elevated market volatility, according to treasury and liquidity management provider Hazeltree.
The firm’s latest data shows that global funds continued to concentrate positions in companies with strong profitability, high return on equity and dominant margins, as markets pushed to new highs during the month.
The positioning trends broadly tracked strength in technology benchmarks, particularly within the so-called “Magnificent Seven.” Meta Platforms and Amazon.com saw more than a 5% month-on-month increase in the number of funds holding long positions, signalling renewed conviction in large-cap digital platforms.
In contrast, Nvidia saw a 4.5% decline in fund long positioning, while Tesla remained firmly out of favour, with continued bearish sentiment reflected in long-to-short fund count ratios.
The data points to a more selective approach within tech leadership, with hedge funds rotating exposure rather than abandoning the sector.
Within semiconductors, sentiment remained broadly stable but showed signs of internal dispersion. Hazeltree’s analysis of 30 large US-listed chip-related companies showed net long positioning starting the year at 57%, dipping to 53% in February and March before recovering back to 57% in April.
Crowding remained most pronounced on the long side in Nvidia, followed by Broadcom and Lam Research. On the short side, ON Semiconductor was identified as the most crowded bearish position, alongside Microchip Technology and Monolithic Power Systems.
However, positioning shifts were evident at the margins. Astera Labs and Coherent moved from net long- to net short-biased during the month, while long exposure in the sector showed signs of modest rotation rather than broad liquidation.
“Despite the continued Middle East conflict and rising cost of oil, global markets snapped back in April with a risk-on approach, particularly in the tech and semiconductor sectors,” said Tim Smith, managing director, Data Insights at Hazeltree, noting that Nvidia remained long-biased but with “softening at the margin,” alongside a 4.5% decline in long fund participation and a meaningful increase in short positioning.
The report is based on anonymised securities-finance data covering approximately 16,000 securities and more than 600 global hedge funds across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific. It tracks long and short crowding by region and market capitalisation, identifying where hedge fund positioning is most concentrated relative to peers.
Beyond large-cap technology, the report highlighted notable single-name moves across regions.
In North America, long crowding increased in mid-cap names including Paylocity, Chemed, Toro, Commvault, Match Group and Calix, while small-cap strength was seen in Harmony Biosciences, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals and SPS Commerce. On the short side, General Mills led large-cap crowding, with The Campbell’s Company and Repligen among mid-cap bearish positions. Several consumer and travel-related small caps, including Tripadvisor and Kohl’s, also saw rising short interest.
In Europe, Middle East and Africa, long positioning increased in small caps such as Atalaya Mining, Integrafin and BlueNord, while short interest rose in Barry Callebaut and Domino’s Pizza Group.
In Asia-Pacific, hedge funds added long exposure to West African Resources, Tianqi Lithium and Stanmore Resources, while increasing short positions in Horizon Robotics, Fujikura, Japan Steel Works and Alibaba Health, reflecting continued divergence in sentiment across regional growth and industrial names.
Overall, the April data suggests hedge funds participated in the equity rally but did so with a selective, concentration-driven approach, favouring established technology leaders while remaining cautious on higher-volatility and speculative segments of the market.
