As the broader market rides high, some stocks are emerging as short selling candidates, according to Wolfe Research.
Stocks ended last week higher on top of an already positive 2025 so far. The Nasdaq Composite led the way, advancing 2.6% last week. That move is then followed by the weekly gains of the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average at 1.5% and 0.6%, respectively.
That strength came after investors digested new inflation data that, despite hotter-than-expected headline figures, may point to lesser pricing pressures. On top of that, President Donald Trump laid out a plan for implementing reciprocal tariffs on goods from countries with levies on U.S. products. However, Trump fell short of immediately imposing the new duties.
That said, some stocks may be overextended to the upside — making them prime targets for investors to bet against them. Against that backdrop, Wolfe highlighted its “short hits” list, which includes stocks that appear most frequently among the firm’s 16 short ideas screens.
Below are some names that appeared.
Source: Wolfe Research
Both Tesla and GameStop made the hit list, with both having four hits on Wolfe’s short screens. Short interest for Tesla sits at 2.3% of the company’s float, while short interest for GameStop is at 7.9% of its float. Tesla shares have soared nearly 80% over the last 12 months, while GameStop has jumped more than 90% in that period.
The stocks have also seen recent moves to the upside after experiencing some losing sessions.
On Wednesday, Tesla snapped a five-day losing streak, rising 2.4% after closing Tuesday’s session down 6.3%. Tuesday’s move lower came after Chinese rival BYD revealed that it’s developing autonomous vehicle technology with DeepSeek. While Wednesday’s momentum continued into Thursday, when the stock closed 5.8% higher, the stock ultimately finished the week with a decline of 1.6%.
For GameStop, shares ended the week in the green, climbing 9.2%. On Friday, the stock gained 2.5% after three sources told CNBC that it’s contemplating investing in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
U.S. Steel also made the hit list, appearing on four of Wolfe’s short screens. Short interest for the name is at 12.8% of the steel producer’s float.
That stock was also higher last week, as shares rose about 4% in the period. Along with other steel and aluminum companies, U.S. Steel got a boost after Trump told reporters that he will impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports coming into the U.S.
While the stock is positive in 2025, it has had a rough past year, declining roughly 16% in that time.
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