Leading Crypto Stock Among The Most Shorted In November

Image Source: PixabayIt has been a challenging past couple of months for cryptocurrencies, which may be one of the reasons that a leading crypto stock, Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN), was heavily shorted by institutional investors in November.The Hazeltree Shortside Crowdedness report for November listed Coinbase as the third most shorted stock last month. It marked the first time that the stock made the top 10 on the monthly Hazeltree list.“Coinbase cracked the top 10 most crowded large-cap shorts for the first time, as the U.S.-based crypto exchange experienced a steady decline in its stock price from October 27 to November 20, with a notable 34.1% drop,” Tim Smith, managing director, data insights at Hazeltree, said. “It may well be that asset managers are shorting the stock as a hedge against underlying crypto exposure, while others are speculating on the potential end of the year’s crypto rally.”Coinbase stock saw negative price movements on 11 of the 19 trading days in November, according to Hazeltree’s analysis. The activity reflects the broader bearish sentiment in the crypto market since early October.Palo Alto Networks was the most shorted stockThere were also some notable technology stocks in the top 10 last month, including two cybersecurity leaders — Palo Alto Networks (Nasdaq: PANW) and Crowdstrike (Nasdaq: CRWD).In fact, Palo Alto Networks was the most shorted large-cap last month. Here are the top 10.Palo Alto Networks (PANW): 99Charter Communications (CHTR): 87International Business Machines (IBM): 84Marriott International (MAR): 84Coinbase (COIN): 84Goldman Sachs (GS): 81SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY): 81Ingersoll Rand (IR): 81Fox Corporation (FOXA): 81CrowdStrike (CRWD): 81The crowdedness score normalizes the number of funds in Hazeltree’s community shorting a given security, with 99 being the highest possible score.Charter had the highest institutional supply utilization (ISU) percentage at 40.79%. This represents the percentage of the institutional investors’ supply of a particular security that is being lent out. It is an indicator of how “hot” a security is in terms of the supply-demand dynamic.MGM on list of most shorted midcapsAmong midcap U.S. stocks, Hims and Hers Health (NYSE: HIMS) was the most shorted with a score of 99. It also had the highest ISU percentage at 61.44%.Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE: KNX) was next at 96, followed by the Campbell’s Company (Nasdaq: CPB) at 92. Other notable names in the top 10 include MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM) with a score of 85 and egg producer Cal-Maine Foods (Nasdaq: CALM) with a score of 81.The most shorted small-cap stock in November was Allegiant Travel (Nasdaq: ALGT) with a crowdedness score of 99. It is the second straight month that the airline has topped the small-cap list.IMAX Corp. (NYSE: IMAX) was next at 90, while Trip Advisor (Nasdaq: TRIP) was third with a score of 86. Applied Optoelectronics (Nasdaq: AAOI) had the highest ISU percentage among small caps at 65.69%.More By This Author:Up 340% YTD, Is Planet Labs Stock A Buy?Where Will U.S. Stocks Be In 10 Years?Here’s Why ANF Is Rallying