When institutional investors pile in, pull back, or face off—S3 shows you first.

Track Both Sides: S3 captures both long and short interest from active managers, providing a full view of institutional positioning, not just one side of the trade.

Classification Matters: Accurate tracking of active ownership is essential. S3’s MAP dataset filters out passive noise to isolate Active and Passive investor flows.

Avoid the Proxies: S3 data reflects actual positions in real time, so you can respond to flow, not filings.

Macro View: The gap between active long and short interest, in the chart below, reflects flows into active products and hedge fund managers raising net exposures. Since the start of 2022 growth in short positions has outpaced growth in active long positions.

Conviction on Both Sides: Names like DJT and AS show that massive moves happen when both longs and shorts size up at the same time.

From Rotation to Rebuild: Several names in the “Longs Buying, Shorts Covering” group show signs of recovery themes—suggesting early-stage turnarounds in health care, semis, and consumer.

Dive Deeper: Reach out for custom L/S quadrant screens, live data access, or alerts tied to real-time shifts in crowding, conviction, and risk rotation.

Both Sides Adding (Top Decile LI & SI Change)

These stocks where both long buyers and short sellers are building positions at the same time. That means investors strongly disagree on what happens next, some think the stock is going up, others think it’s going down. These names can move fast and be more volatile because both sides are active and ready to react, as discussed in our Battleground Framework research.

Examples to Watch:

RKT (Rocket Companies): +27% YTD; long and short interest both moving higher, suggesting investor disagreement over the strength of the housing and mortgage rebound.

DJT (Trump Media): Despite a -45% YTD decline, both long (+510%) and short (+153%) interest have surged, with active long interest increasing from a much lower base.

Both Sides Exiting (Bottom Decile LI & SI Change)

These are trades losing attention—both long and short investors are pulling back. That usually means there's less interest, less conviction, and fewer active bets. The market may be moving on, or the story has played out. These stocks may drift without strong direction.

Examples to Watch:

GM (General Motors): Positioning pullback suggests reduced conviction in the EV and autos trade.

DDOG (Datadog): Despite S&P 500 inclusion on July 3rd, active flows have been unwinding YTD, with long interest declining. Short interest has ticked up slightly over the past month, pushing against the broader trend of reduced positioning.

Longs Selling, Shorts Adding (Bottom Decile LI, Top Decile SI)

This group shows a clear shift in sentiment. Long investors are getting out, while short sellers are betting more heavily against the stock. This usually happens when the outlook gets worse—because of bad news, earnings misses, or falling confidence. It’s often a sign of real trouble.

Examples to Watch:

LLYVK (Liberty Media – Liberty Live): Longs are exiting while shorts bet against the valuation disconnect from Sirius XM.

BLDR (Builders FirstSource): Short sellers are leaning into slowing housing momentum as long positioning fades.

Longs Buying, Shorts Covering (Top Decile LI, Bottom Decile SI)

This group reflects recovery or breakout setups. Long investors are adding exposure, and short sellers are backing off. This shift often happens when sentiment improves—like after strong earnings, good guidance, or improving fundamentals. These names could become leaders if momentum holds.

Examples to Watch:

BA (Boeing): Longs are returning as confidence rebuilds post-crisis; shorts unwinding into improving sentiment.

ED (Con Edison): Defensive bid building with long exposure rising and shorts pulling back, classic rotation into low-volatility yield.

Want to know more? Access this data in real time using S3’s BLACK APP

The information herein (some of which has been obtained from third party sources without verification) is believed by S3 Partners, LLC (“S3 Partners”) to be reliable and accurate. Neither S3 Partners nor any of its affiliates makes any representation as to the accuracy or completeness of the information herein or accepts liability arising from its use. Prior to making any decisions based on the information herein, you should determine, without reliance upon S3 Partners, the economic risks, and merits, as well as the legal, tax, accounting, and investment consequences, of such decisions.