Hedge funds and other short sellers are concentrating their bets on technology stocks in the Americas and APAC and consumer and luxury names in EMEA, according to Hazeltree’s September 2025 Shortside Crowdedness Report.
The data comes amid robust global equity performance, with the MSCI ACWI Index rising 3.66% over the month.
Hazeltree, which tracks the securities-lending activity of more than 500 asset management firms, found that technology accounted for 26% of the most-crowded shorts in the Americas—including IBM, Palo Alto Networks, Applied Materials, and ON Semiconductor—and 30% in APAC, with firms targeting companies such as Lasertec and DISCO. In Europe, the focus shifted to consumer and luxury stocks, with Kering, LVMH, and EssilorLuxottica dominating short positions.
Tim Smith, Managing Director of Data Insights at Hazeltree, noted that September saw “broadly positive developments—easing-rate hopes and resilient earnings.” He added that optimism in the Americas was buoyed by expectations of 2026 rate cuts and ongoing enthusiasm for AI-related stocks, while Japanese equities made up the bulk of APAC names attracting short interest.
Notable shifts included Super Micro Computer dropping out of the Americas large-cap top 10 for the first time this year, replaced by Hims & Hers Health, while in EMEA, consumer companies led small and mid-cap shorting activity. In APAC, Tokyo Metro Co. and Meiko Electronics were among the most crowded positions.
The Hazeltree report measures crowdedness using a proprietary Crowdedness Score, institutional supply utilization, and community borrow fees, providing insight into which securities are attracting the highest concentration of short positions across large-, mid-, and small-cap categories.
