In this article, we will take a look at the 11 Most Shorted Stocks to Buy According to Analysts.
Although holes are starting to form, the stock market doesn’t seem to be in danger of crashing just yet, with the S&P 500 down only 1% from its record high. Nonetheless, sentiment has been particularly shaky in software and cybersecurity stocks this year due to concerns about the rapidly evolving capabilities of AI tools that could disrupt established software companies’ operations. Moving forward into the last week of February, the S&P 500 software sub-index lost $1.2 trillion in total market capitalization in just under a month, plunging to its lowest point since the ensuing aftermath of President Trump’s “liberation day” tariff decisions in April 2025.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 utilities sub-index is up 10%, while energy stocks are up 22%, as industries with significant tangible assets regain popularity after years of stagnation relative to asset-light technology companies.
In such an unpredictable market environment, short sellers are regaining relevance, according to Dan Loeb of Third Point LLC, as openings emerge to take risks against the bloated trades that have hammered market detractors for years.
In the face of the unrelenting US bull market, regulatory risks, and the rise of erratic retail traders, the short-selling space has been getting narrower. However, Loeb claims this has created an opportunity, as the tech giants who have driven the market higher are struggling to get started in 2026.
Our Methodology
For this list, we used stock screeners to identify stocks with significant short interest. From that list, we primarily chose stocks with a short float of 20% or above. Short float % (Short Interest as % of Float) measures the percentage of a company’s publicly tradable shares that have been sold short by investors. We then narrowed the list to 11 stocks most popular among elite hedge funds and that analysts were bullish on (at least 20% upside).
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
11. Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU)
Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU) ranks among the most shorted stocks to buy according to analysts. On February 11, William Blair reaffirmed an Outperform rating on Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU), retaining a favorable outlook on the company amid mixed quarterly results. William Blair stated that the company’s performance and flat 2026 outlook came short of projections, citing the timing of historical SWU contracts and existing mark-to-market uranium price trends.
Although the firm acknowledged that it was taken aback by the Centrus Energy import/broker trading division’s fluctuation during the quarter, it proposed that this segment’s performance be assessed on a full-year basis rather than a quarterly basis.
Additionally, Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU) announced it will spend more than $560 million to expand its Oak Ridge uranium enrichment centrifuge manufacturing plant. With the first centrifuges expected to be operating by 2029, this development is anticipated to turn the property into a high-rate manufacturing facility.
Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU) is a Maryland-based supplier of nuclear fuel components and services that operates under two business categories: Low-Enriched Uranium and Technical Solutions.
Hedge Fund Resource Center