5 Most Shorted Stocks in the World

In this article, we discuss 5 most shorted stocks in the world. If you want to see more stocks on this list, click 10 Most Shorted Stocks in the World. 

5. Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 106

Shares Shorted as of August 30: 53.59 million

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA), the Chinese e-commerce giant, is one of the most shorted stocks in the world. Several Chinese companies, including Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA), had been added to the list of firms at risk of a delisting in the US on the back of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) is also being audited by US officials. 

On August 8, Deutsche Bank analyst Leo Chiang raised the price target on Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) to $160 from $155 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares. The company’s June quarter net income was above consensus while adjusted net margins also beat estimates, primarily due to a quicker than anticipated narrowing of losses in new initiatives, the analyst told investors. The analyst sees the present valuation as “defensive” and said a faster than expected macro rebound could offer upside potential.

Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 106 funds reported owning stakes worth $7.4 billion in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) at the end of Q2 2022, up from 100 funds in the prior quarter worth $5.70 billion. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is the biggest stakeholder of the company, with 14.5 million shares worth $1.6 billion. 

Here is what Baron Funds specifically said about Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:

“Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) is the largest retailer and e-commerce company in China. Alibaba operates shopping platforms Taobao and Tmall and owns 33% of Ant Group, which operates Alipay, China’s largest third party online payment provider. Shares of Alibaba rose during the quarter, driven by an increasing focus on improving capital allocation, an improving regulatory environment, and government stimulus targeting Chinese consumers. We retain conviction that Alibaba will benefit from rapid growth in cloud services, logistics, and retail.”