Bears Load Up on Ondas, Dutch Bros and 8 More Stocks — Is a Squeeze Brewing?

Short sellers have piled into 10 stocks valued at $2 billion or more, and the crowding has reached extreme levels. Screener data reviewed Friday morning shows short interest above 34% of the float for every name on the list. 

Heavy short interest carries real risk short sellers who profit when a stock falls. A surprise rally, however, can force them to buy back shares to limit losses, and the rush to cover can send prices sharply higher in a short squeeze.

• ONDS stock is heavily shorted. Get all the details here. 

Here are the most heavily shorted stocks (with market caps above $2 billion and 14-day average trading volumes of at least 1 million shares) as Friday, according to data from Benzinga Pro. 

The 10 Most-Shorted Stocks

The Leaders

Venture Global Inc. (NYSE:VG) leads the pack with 83.81% of its float sold short. The company also carries the largest market value in the group at $37.38 billion and has averaged 13.93 million shares traded per day over the past 14 sessions.

MiniMed Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MMED) ranks second at 72.56%. Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE:BROS) claims third place at 49.08%, well behind the top two but still among the most crowded bearish bets in the market.

Ondas Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ONDS) follows at 43.86%. Ondas stands apart on trading activity. Its 14-day average volume of 61.94 million shares tops every other stock in the group by a wide margin.

The Rest of the Pack

• Under Armour Inc. (NYSE:UAA) and Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE:KSS) both carry short interest above 40%. 
• Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) and Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) sit just below 40%, separated by less than half a percentage point.
• Navan Inc. (NASDAQ:NAVN) and Acadia Healthcare Co. Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHC) round out the top 10 at 36.11% and 34.54%, respectively.

A Shaky Backdrop

Megacap earnings have rattled the market all week. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares tanked Thursday after the company reported worse-than-expected earnings, revenue and capital spending, along with negative free cash flow of $9.07 billion. 

Friday brought more pain. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) slid 7% and Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) sank 28% in early trading after both reported quarterly numbers that disappointed investors, pulling the Nasdaq down. Amazon missed on both earnings and revenue, while Intel issued guidance below expectations.

Crypto offered no relief. Binance halted trading Thursday after hackers allegedly linked to North Korea stole more than $6 billion, the largest crypto hack in history. The exchange said an initial investigation tied the breach to a compromised laptop belonging to one of its engineers, and co-founder Yi He pledged Binance will cover all hacking losses.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) traded down 5% and under $77,000 on Friday morning, according to Benzinga Pro market data. 

Sudden swings in sentiment can work in either direction for crowded trades. Fear can reward the bears. A relief rally can punish them fast.

What Could Spark a Squeeze

Earnings beats, stronger guidance or a broad market rebound could each push short sellers to cover. Without a catalyst, bears may keep pressing their bets. Squeezes rarely announce themselves in advance. Each of these 10 stocks carries enough short interest to make the next surprise a big one.

Reminders:

• Highly shorted stocks are battlegrounds where negative fundamentals meet speculative trading.​
• Short squeezes can deliver huge, fast gains, but at high risk and volatility.​
• Monitoring the short interest leaderboard can help identify which stocks might be the next short squeeze, but timing such trades remains extremely challenging.​
• Always conduct due diligence, as the volatility often reflects deep underlying risks and business uncertainty.

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