Short sellers gain $6bn amid AI data center stock selloff

Investing.com -- Investors who bet against US neocloud and data center companies have gained $6 billion in paper profits this month as concerns about debt-fueled AI expansion triggered a selloff, according to data analytics firm ORTEX.

Short interest in CoreWeave, IREN, Nebius Group, Applied Digital and Core Scientific ranged from approximately 20% to 26% of their free float.

CoreWeave's current short interest stands at 23.7% of its free float, up from 19.6% at the start of October and slightly higher than the 22.7% recorded at the beginning of 2026. Short sellers have made nearly $1.7 billion in paper profits from CoreWeave trades this month after the company's shares fell almost 30%.

Nebius has seen short interest climb to 20% of free float from 15.4% at the start of 2026. Investors betting against Nebius have gained $2.94 billion in paper profits in October, though they have recorded a paper loss of $3.33 billion year-to-date.

Short sellers of data center operators IREN and Applied Digital have recorded combined paper profits exceeding $1.2 billion this month.

Core Scientific had short interest at 23.1% of its free float, with short sellers recording $115 million in paper profits in October.

Approximately $17 billion of stock across the five companies is currently sold short and borrowing costs remain low for all of them, ORTEX said.

Original Article

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