Short Sellers' Sizzling 6: The 6 Hottest Stocks Among These Investors

The historic short squeeze that recently sent DryShips Inc. DRYS shares soaring from under $4 to over $100 and then back below $8 in a matter of days certainly captured the attention of the market. Many traders are now on the hunt for the next major short squeeze stock.

FIS’ Astec Analytics periodically compiles a list of the hottest short-selling stocks from a securities lending standpoint. According to the firm's most recent investor sentiment securities lending analytics, here are the most popular shorts in today’s market.

Top Pick: Tesla Motors

An overwhelming majority (85 percent) of Tesla Motors Inc TSLA shareholders recently voted in favor of a buyout of SolarCity Corp SCTY. Tesla short sellers hit a 52-week low on October 18, but short interest has risen 36 percent since then. Now that the merger is official, the market is once again turning its attention to Tesla’s competition, production deadlines and profitability hurdles.

SolarCity

Short selling activity in SolarCity has mostly mirrored that of Tesla in recent months. Short sellers may begin to exit the position once the actual Tesla buyout price becomes clear.

IBM

International Business Machines Corp. IBM finally broke its streak of consecutive weeks of increasing short interest that had been in place since September 1. However, despite a 13 percent drop in short interest in the past week, IBM remains one of the most heavily-shorted stocks in the market today.

Acacia Communications

Acacia Communications, Inc. ACIA has been one of the hottest and most profitable IPOs of 2016. Unfortunately, short sellers have recognized that these hot IPOs tend to lose their luster over time. The most recent numbers show that short interest in Acacia now stands at just over 60 percent of available shares.

Fitbit

Fitbit Inc FIT has been a controversial and heavily-shorted stock since the moment it hit the market. Despite falling short interest levels in the most recent week, share price fell as well. It seems as if Fitbit traders are closing more long positions that short sellers are closing short ones.

Twilio

Twilio Inc TWLO is another red-hot 2016 IPO that short sellers will fall back down to earth at some point. FIS reports that short sellers continue to borrow nearly every share of Twilio that becomes available to short. Short percent of shares available now stands at an incredible 98 percent.