The Short List — Top 10 Most Shorted Stocks Right Now

Benzinga Pro data (Nov. 26, 2025) ranks the most heavily shorted stocks (market caps > $2bn, free float > 5m): The Wendy’s Co. (WEN) 55.36%, Cambium Networks (CMBM) 50.03%, Lucid Group (LCID) 48.99%, Wolfspeed (WOLF) 48.18%, Hertz (HTZ) 44.67%, Sable Offshore (SOC) 38.59%, Replimune (REPL) 38.39%, Hims & Hers (HIMS) 38.12%, aTyr Pharma (ATYR) 37.92%, and Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) 37.85%. High short interest signals consensus bearish views on fundamentals and also presents elevated squeeze risk and volatility; monitoring these positions and short-interest trends can inform directional or event-driven trading but entails significant risk.

Analysis

Market structure: Extremely high short interest (WEN 55%, CMBM 50%, LCID ~49%, WOLF ~48%) concentrates supply risk into a small free float, increasing gamma and borrow-pressure-driven volatility. Winners are liquidity providers, option sellers collecting elevated IV, and any long holder that can trigger a squeeze; losers are large directional short funds and retail holders forced to sell into spikes. Cross-asset flows: expect single-name options IV spikes, higher cost-to-borrow and tighter CDS basis for indebted names (HTZ), and transient flows into equities away from low-risk fixed income during squeezes.

Risk assessment: Tail risks include borrow recalls and coordinated retail squeezes producing >50% intraday moves, regulatory interventions (short-sale bans) and binary biotech/FDA outcomes (NTLA, REPL, ATYR) within 30–180 days. Immediate window (days): gamma and OPEX calendar risk; short-term (weeks–months): earnings, production or clinical catalysts; long-term (quarters+): cash runway and capital raises that can dilute. Hidden dependencies: ETF rebalances, market-maker delta-hedging and borrow-cost spikes can flip a modest move into a cascade.

Trade implications: Size high-convexity trades small and defined — prefer debit call spreads for squeeze candidates (WEN, HTZ) sized 0.5–1% portfolio with 3-month expiries and 25% stop-loss; establish 1–2% directional shorts or buy puts on cash-burn EV names (LCID) over 3–6 months with guardrails tied to cash runway extensions. Use iron condors or selling 30–45 day vol on biotech names post-catalyst to harvest high IV, but hedge with purchasing protection outside the expected move.

Contrarian angles: Consensus overweights squeeze narratives and underweights fundamentals; WOLF (SiC semiconductor) and NTLA (CRISPR) have structurally attractive end-markets that could outperform if macro capex recovers — consider asymmetric long LEAPs (12-month) sized 0.5–1% where short interest >40% but cash runway and TAM support upside. Beware that a successful contrarian requires monitoring borrow rate >30% and upcoming index/earnings windows that can wipe gains quickly.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Establish a 0.75% portfolio position: buy a 3-month ATM call debit spread on WEN (buy ATM, sell 25% OTM) to capture squeeze potential; set tactical take-profit at +80% and stop-loss at -25%; reassess 2 weeks before earnings/option expiries.
• Initiate a 1–2% short position in LCID via borrow or buy 3–6 month puts (target delta ~-0.35) expecting 30–60% downside if production/margin guidance misses; cover/trim on announced cash runway extension beyond 12 months or a >20% rally on positive catalyst.
• Allocate 1% to long WOLF via shares or 12-month LEAP calls (theta-tolerant) as a thematic play on SiC demand recovery; target +30% upside in 12 months, cut to breakeven if book-to-bill signs persistently decline over two consecutive quarters.
• Sell short-dated (30–45 day) iron condors on REPL and NTLA sized 0.25–0.5% each to monetize elevated IV, but buy OTM protective breaks (wings) to cap tail losses; exit before known trial readouts or FDA dates within 30–90 days.
• Monitor key thresholds: reduce all short exposure if any single-name borrow rate spikes >30% or short interest increases >10 percentage points in 30 days; avoid adding to squeeze candidates during top-5 open interest / option OI buildups within 7 days of expiry.