Americas' hedge fund long large-cap crowdedness led by Lam Research Corp, Mastercard Inc, and Applied Materials Inc; short crowdedness led by Oracle Corp and Nebius Group

Against the backdrop of concerns over a private credit blow-up and ongoing wars in the Middle East and Russia/Ukraine, global hedge funds experienced a slight momentum shift towards the short side than the long side, according to Hazeltree, a leading provider of integrated treasury and liquidity management solutions for alternative asset managers. Securities lending institutional utilization supports this conclusion overall, increasing by 50% over the recent six months in major regions, with the exception, perhaps, in EMEA, which was volatile but still up.

Key takeaways from the newly published February 2026 Hazeltree Crowdedness Report include:

​The most crowded sectors consistently fell into four sectors across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC:

• Information Technology – North America (Software & Services) and APAC (Technology Hardware & Equipment)
• Industrials – North America (Capital Goods), EMEA (Capital Goods), and APAC (Capital Goods)
• Financials – North America (Banks) and EMEA (Banks)
• Consumer Discretionary - EMEA (Consumer Durables & Apparel industry) and APAC (Automobiles & Components industry)
• In every region, these sectors appear at or near the top of both long and short crowdedness rankings, consistent with December 2025. This could potentially be seen as managers simultaneously expressing conviction and hedging within the same sector.

The monthly report provides a look back at hedge fund long and short crowdedness across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC, based on Hazeltree’s analysis of anonymized data from approximately 16,000 securities on its proprietary securities‑finance platform, representing more than 600 global funds. It includes the ten most crowded regional long and short positions, broken out by large-, mid-, and small-cap categories.

Hazeltree defines the crowdedness score as a relative metric that normalizes the number of funds in Hazeltree’s community that are longing or shorting a given security within a predefined group (by region and market cap) relative to its peers. When a fund longs a stock, it generally means they either expect the stock's price to go up or use longs to hedge their exposure to shorts. On the contrary, when a fund shorts a stock, it generally means they either expect the stock's price to drop or are hedging their long exposure.​

“The month of February brought unprecedented market volatility that rippled through financial markets,” said Tim Smith, Managing Director, Data Insights, Hazeltree. “While the war in Russia and Ukraine raged on, a new war front opened in the Middle East between Iran, Israel, and the U.S., along with an increasing spike in redemptions in private credit from asset managers such as Blue Owl Capital and Blackstone.”

Smith added, “Software companies had a brutal month with a massive sell-off and valuation reset dubbed 'SaaS-pocalypse,' which was triggered by advances in AI 'agentic' tools that automate workflows, and could threaten the revenue models of traditional, seat-based SaaS tools.”

Further Highlights at the Single-Name Level

North America: Top Movers (>10% MoM Change in Fund Counts)

Long crowdedness increases

• Large-cap: Lam Research Corp, Mastercard Inc, and Applied Materials Inc
• Mid-cap: Etsy Inc, News Corp, Paylocity Holding Corp., and Affiliated Managers Group
• Small-cap: Napco Security Technologies, Adient Plc, Trinet Group Inc, IDT Corp, and Progyny Inc

Note: Large-caps Amazon.com, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation, Mid-Cap Match Group Inc, and Small-cap AMN Healthcare Services Inc saw a >10% month‑over‑month decrease in long fund counts.

​Short crowdedness increases

• Large-cap: Oracle Corp and Nebius Group N.V.
• Mid-cap: Aurora Innovation Inc, BXP, Inc, Dropbox Inc, and The Campbell's Company
• Small-cap: Ziff Davis Inc, Sally Beauty Holdings Inc, and Aeva Technologies Inc

Note: Mid-cap Hims & Hers Health Inc., Small-caps Par Technology Corp and Amprius Technologies saw a >10% month‑over‑month decrease in short fund counts.

EMEA: Top Movers (>10% MoM Change in Fund Counts)

Long crowdedness increases

• Large-cap: ABB Ltd, AIB Group Plc, and Centrica Plc
• Mid-cap: Scout24 AG and Games Workshop Group Plc
• Small-cap: AMG Critical Materials N.V. and SMA Solar Technology AG

Short crowdedness increases

• Large-cap: Marks & Spencer Group Plc
• Mid-cap: Sodexo SA
• Small-cap: Soitec, Kainos Group Plc, and Hays Plc

Note: Small-cap Redcare Pharmacy N.V. saw a >10% month‑over‑month decrease in short fund counts.

APAC: Top Movers (>10% MoM Change in Fund Counts)

Long crowdedness increases

• Mid-cap: Dai-Dan Co Ltd
• Small-cap: Bellevue Gold Ltd, and K's Holdings Corp

Note: Mid-cap: Japan Airlines Co Ltd saw a >10% month‑over‑month decrease in long fund counts.

Short crowdedness increases

• Large-cap: Ibiden Co Ltd, Panasonic Corp, and Toyota Motor Corp
• Mid-cap: Nitto Boseki Co Ltd, Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd, and SG Holdings Co Ltd
• Small-cap: Deep Yellow Ltd, Ube Industries Ltd, and Kyoritsu Maintenance Co Ltd

To view the February 2026 Hazeltree Crowdedness Report and past reports, click here.

Methodology
The Hazeltree Crowdedness Report is based on anonymized and aggregated positioning data from Hazeltree’s proprietary securities‑finance platform, which reflects trading activity from its hedge fund client base of more than 600 global funds. It calculates the crowdedness score by sector and region (Americas, EMEA, and APAC) and analyzes both long and short crowdedness over the full month of February 2026.

Divergence Bar Chart
The divergence bar chart shows the February 2026 crowdedness score by sector and region. Long positions are represented on the blue side of the chart and short positions on the red side, enabling a clear comparison of long and short positioning within each sector.

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btanner@hazeltree.com.

About Hazeltree
Hazeltree is the leading provider of treasury and liquidity management and optimization solutions purpose-built for the alternative investment industry. Trusted by more than 600 investment firms managing over $4 trillion in assets, Hazeltree empowers hedge funds, private markets firms, and asset managers to enhance operational efficiency, reduce risk, and unlock alpha. Hazeltree’s cloud-based platform facilitates nearly $8 billion in daily transactions across more than 10,000 funds. By delivering seamless connectivity across counterparties and service providers, Hazeltree enables clients to optimize cash, credit facilities, margin, and fees—driving stronger returns and greater transparency across the investment lifecycle. Hazeltree is headquartered in New York with offices in London, Bournemouth, and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.hazeltree.com.​

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