Hedge funds have had a great year picking stocks. But there’s a dark underbelly to their investment activity that involves betting on companies to falter.

To see which stocks bear the biggest burden of hedge fund shorts, the equity strategy team at Goldman Sachs analyzes 821 funds that hold a combined $1.9 trillion in gross equity positions, then identifies the stocks that have the highest dollar value of short interest outstanding.

Known as the Very Important Short Position list, the basket excludes companies in Goldman’s hedge fund VIP index, as well as stocks with more than 10% of float-adjusted shares held short. It also has a large-cap bias, with a median market capitalization of $71 billion, compared with $20 billion for the S&P 500.

Here’s a list of the 18 stocks in the index that have the highest level of short interest:


18. Target

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: TGT

Subsector: General merchandise stores

Total return year-to-date: -21%

Value of short interest: $1.9 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


17. Boeing

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: BA

Subsector: Aerospace & defense

Total return year-to-date: 16%

Value of short interest: $2 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


16. Lam Research

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: LRCX

Subsector: Semiconductor equipment

Total return year-to-date: 42%

Value of short interest: $2 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


15. Procter & Gamble

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: PG

Subsector: Household products

Total return year-to-date: 4%

Value of short interest: $2 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


14. Simon Property Group

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: SPG

Subsector: Retail REITs

Total return year-to-date: -12%

Value of short interest: $2 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


13. CVS Health

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: CVS

Subsector: Drug retail

Total return year-to-date: -2%

Value of short interest: $2 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


12. Express Scripts

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: ESRX

Subsector: Health care services

Total return year-to-date: -14%

Value of short interest: $2 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


11. Chevron

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: CVX

Subsector: Integrated oil & gas

Total return year-to-date: -9%

Value of short interest: $2.1 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


10. AbbVie

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: ABBV

Subsector: Biotechnology

Total return year-to-date: 7%

Value of short interest: $2.2 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


9. Intuitive Surgical

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: ISRG

Subsector: Health care equipment

Total return year-to-date: 36%

Value of short interest: $2.2 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


8. Caterpillar

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: CAT

Subsector: Construction machinery & heavy trucks

Total return year-to-date: 10%

Value of short interest: $2.2 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


7. ExxonMobil

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: XOM

Subsector: Integrated oil & gas

Total return year-to-date: -8%

Value of short interest: $2.3 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


6. General Electric

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: GE

Subsector: Industrial conglomerates

Total return year-to-date: -12%

Value of short interest: $2.7 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


5. Walmart

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: WMT

Subsector: Hypermarkets & super centers

Total return year-to-date: 14%

Value of short interest: $2.7 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


4. NVIDIA

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: NVDA

Subsector: Semiconductors

Total return year-to-date: 25%

Value of short interest: $3 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


3. IBM

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: IBM

Subsector: IT consulting & other services

Total return year-to-date: -8%

Value of short interest: $3 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


2. Intel

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: INTC

Subsector: Semiconductors

Total return year-to-date: -1%

Value of short interest: $3.3 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


1. AT&T

Foto: source Markets Insider

Ticker: T

Subsector: Integrated telecommunications services

Total return year-to-date: -9%

Value of short interest: $5.3 billion

Source: Goldman Sachs


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GOLDMAN SACHS: These are the 14 VIP stocks that matter most to hedge funds