Hedge funds upped short AI bets in July, Hazeltree says

Hedge funds upped short AI bets in July, Hazeltree says Reuters Wed, August 12, 2026 at 10:08 AM GMT+2 2 min read SMCI NBIS CRWV LONDON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Hedge funds upped short bets on AI-related stocks in July, according to a Wednesday report from data ‌platform Hazeltree, part of a broad shift in the month that ‌saw chipmaker shares tumble around the world Here are some details about hedge fund positioning in ​July: • Hedge funds increased short positions — bets that a price will fall — in chipmaker Super Micro Computer , as well as AI infrastructure firms Coreweave and Nebius Group , the report showed. • All three were in the top 10 most shorted ‌stocks in July across ⁠the firm's hedge fund client base, which it says has more than 700 funds. They were also in the top ⁠10 in June, but each saw that short positioning grow.

• July saw some nervousness about chipmakers and the AI trade, on investor concern about valuations and ​the ​sustainability of their bumper revenues. U. S.

chip ​stocks dropped 20%, while Korea's ‌tech-heavy Kospi index fell 22%. - both indexes posted their biggest monthly fall since 2008. • Hedge funds also reduced long positions and raised short positioning in chip giant Nvidia , Hazeltree said, though funds in aggregate were still long.

• Coreweave shares jumped in extended trading on Tuesday after it beat second ‌quarter estimates. High short positioning can contribute to ​dramatic moves higher in a share price — ​a so-called short squeeze — where ​a rally can force investors who are short to ‌buy back the shares, even at a ​loss. • "Wall Street took ​profits in some of the year's biggest AI infrastructure winners without abandoning the trade altogether, instead redeploying capitalinto companies that have shown signs ​of monetisation.

A ‌similar unwind played out in leveraged semiconductor bets, with investors trimming ​borrowed risk rather than exiting AI exposure entirely," Hazeltree said.