This Tech Stock Is 1 of the Most Shorted Stocks of 2026: Is Now the Time to Buy?

Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) was one of the most shorted stocks by hedge funds in the first half of 2026, according to the Data Insights Crowding Report.

This meant that a lot of investors were betting that the shares will fall. Only two companies were more heavily shorted, Data Insights found: Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR) and Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI).

Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »

It has been a wild 12 months for Oracle stock . It spiked to an all-time high last summer on strong earnings and a growing backlog. As of June, the end of its fiscal year, it had amassed a huge order backlog, with a whopping $638 billion in remaining performance obligations.

The backlog was highlighted by a $300 billion deal with OpenAI for cloud computing.

But it also has infrastructure deals with Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), AMD (NASDAQ: AMD), and Meta (NASDAQ: META), to name just some of the major partnerships.

Oracle stock soared to an all-time closing high of $324 on Sept. 10, 2025. It's now trading at about $153 per share, after losing more than half its value. What happened?

The major factor is the huge capital spending plans to build out data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure to fulfill these contracts. Oracle reported $21 billion in capital expenditures (capex) last year and a whopping $55 billion in fiscal 2026. This left Oracle with negative cash flow of $23.7 billion in fiscal 2026.