Netflix short bets spike 20% overnight after Musk's boycott posts

Group 1 - Short sellers increased their positions in Netflix following Elon Musk's announcement of canceling his subscription, with off-exchange short volume rising to 642,836 shares on October 1, marking a 20% increase from the previous day [1] - Despite the increase in short volume, the short-volume ratio decreased to 40.48% on October 1 from 44.32% on September 30, indicating that while short trades rose, they were outpaced by overall trading volume [2] - The current short interest in Netflix stands at 6.96 million shares, or 1.65% of float, with a cover time of 2.87 days, suggesting that the short positions are not at alarming levels [3] Group 2 - The situation reflects a trend where traders are opportunistically responding to Musk's narrative rather than indicating a significant structural bet against Netflix [3] - The irony lies in the fact that Musk's canceled subscription did not lead to a short squeeze but provided bears with a narrative to leverage [4]