These Are The Most-Shorted Stocks In The US

Shorting a company involves borrowing its shares, selling them at current prices, and then buying them back in the future at a lower price.

Essentially, short sellers are betting that the company will underperform in the future.

In this infographic, Visual Capitalist's Marcu Lu and Bruno Venditti list the 15 most shorted stocks in the U.S. during the fall of 2023, ranked by the value of their short interest, using data from FactSet.

[ZH: 2023 has been a tempestuous one for short-sellers with three massive squeezes (the latest of which is ongoing)...]

Tesla: The Most Shorted Stock in 2023

This ranking is sorted by the dollar value of each firm’s short interest as of October 31, 2023.

Tesla holds the top position as the most shorted stock in 2023 so far. Of the 15 companies listed, seven rank among the top 50 largest companies in the world.

The EV maker’s shares are often volatile, which may explain the popularity of making short-term bets on the stock.

According to Cboe Global Markets, the biggest operator of options exchanges in the U.S., Tesla stock options are among the most heavily traded products on its platforms.

Another important factor to consider is the short interest’s percentage of the float cap. This percentage refers to the portion of the company’s publicly traded shares that have been shorted by investors, adding another layer of context to the ranking.

Charter Communications holds the highest percentage of float cap, with 9%. The mass media company, the second-largest cable operator in the U.S. by subscribers, recently agreed to pay $25 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges related to stock buyback controls violations.