If you had to guess which $40 billion company is currently the most shorted stock in America, you probably would need more than one try.
It's Strategy. Yes, the company formerly known as MicroStrategy . Yes — the Michael Saylor Bitcoin machine.
According to Goldman Sachs' hedge fund positioning data, Strategy has climbed to the top spot among the most shorted large-cap U.S. stocks, measured by short interest as a percentage of market cap. A year ago, it wasn't even in the top 50.
Bitcoin peaked in October. Strategy began sliding even before that. By November, it had jumped into third place on the most-shorted list. Now it's wearing the crown.
Or, depending on your perspective, the target.
Related: MicroStrategy claims it can survive Bitcoin crash to $8,000
The irony is hard to miss
Strategy just logged its 100th Bitcoin purchase announcement, adding 592 BTC last week for $39.8 million. The company now holds 717,722 bitcoin, acquired for $54.56 billion at an average price of $76,020 per coin.
With Bitcoin hovering near $66,000, that's roughly a $7 billion unrealized loss.
Shorting a stock means betting that its price will fall.
An investor borrows shares, sells them at today's price, and hopes to buy them back later at a lower price to return to the lender. If the price drops, they profit from the difference, but if it rises, losses can be unlimited.
That math is not lost on short sellers
There are two ways to look at this.
The first is the straightforward balance sheet view. Strategy is a leveraged Bitcoin proxy wrapped inside a public equity. It issues stock. It buys Bitcoin. It leans into volatility. When BTC runs, Strategy often runs harder. When BTC drops, the structure works in reverse.
The second lens is psychological.
Shorting Strategy is a macro bet on Bitcoin. It's a referendum on financial engineering. It's skepticism toward the idea that a corporate treasury strategy can double as a high-beta crypto ETF.
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What makes this more interesting is that short interest has broadly climbed across the S&P 500, now sitting near one of the highest readings of the past decade. But Strategy stands out because it represents something bigger than earnings multiples.
It represents conviction.
Michael Saylor has never tried to be subtle about what Strategy is. He calls it a "Bitcoin treasury company." The stock trades like one. Investors treat it like one. And now, hedge funds are shorting it like one.
Analysts remain 'super' bullish on Strategy
Wall Street analysts remain overwhelmingly bullish on Strategy (MSTR), with the stock carrying an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.19 on a scale of 1 (Strong Buy) to 5 (Strong Sell).
Of the 16 brokerage firms covering the stock, 14 rate it a Strong Buy and one rates it a Buy, meaning nearly 94% of analysts lean decisively positive, as per data from Zacks Equity Research.
On Feb. 17, Mizuho maintained its Outperform rating but cut its price target from $403 to $320. Just days earlier, Cantor Fitzgerald maintained an Overweight rating while lowering its target from $213 to $192.
BTIG also maintained a Buy rating, though it reduced its target significantly from $630 to $250. Canaccord Genuity kept its Buy rating while cutting its target from $474 to $185.
Earlier in January, TD Cowen maintained a Buy rating and reduced its price target from $500 to $440, while Citigroup lowered its target from $485 to $325, maintaining its Buy call. Bernstein also maintained an Outperform rating, trimming its target from $600 to $450.
Strategy (MSTR) closed at $124.61, up 0.73% on the day. In after-hours trading, the stock slipped slightly to $124.49, down 0.10%. The company currently carries a market cap of approximately $41.6 billion, per data from Yahoo Finance.
Disclaimer: This story is based on publicly available information and third-party reporting. Any analysis, framing, or interpretation is solely the author's and should not be considered investment advice .
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This story was originally published by TheStreet on Feb 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
