Hedge Funds Kept Buying Tech in May
Global hedge funds continued to pile into technology and semiconductor stocks in May, shrugging off concerns about inflation, rising oil prices and escalating tensions in the Middle East as global equity markets climbed toward record highs.
According to Hazeltree’s latest Crowding Report, hedge funds maintained a strong preference for growth-oriented sectors, extending a trend that has dominated much of 2026. The report tracks anonymized securities-finance data from more than 600 hedge funds across roughly 16,000 securities globally.
Interest in the so-called Magnificent Seven remained robust, with hedge funds favoring long positions in Alphabet and Apple. At the same time, sentiment toward Meta Platforms weakened, while bearish positioning increased in both Meta and Amazon. Microsoft and Apple also saw reduced long exposure. Tesla remained the least favored stock in the group, continuing to attract significant short interest.
Semiconductor companies, viewed as the foundation of the artificial intelligence boom, remained a focal point. Hazeltree found sentiment toward the sector grew more positive in May, with 60% of the companies in the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index showing net long positioning, up from 57% in April.
Texas Instruments posted one of the biggest shifts, moving from a net short to a net long position among hedge funds. Nvidia remained the most crowded long trade in the sector, followed by Broadcom and Applied Materials. On the bearish side, ON Semiconductor was the most crowded short position, ahead of Monolithic Power Systems and Microchip Technology.
Tim Smith, managing director of Data Insights at Hazeltree, said hedge funds appeared increasingly confident that the market rally could continue despite lingering macroeconomic concerns.
Smith pointed to NXP Semiconductors as a standout example, noting its ratio of long to short hedge fund positions nearly doubled from April to May as long participation rose and short interest declined.
The report also found growing long interest in companies such as Monday.com, Brinker International and Kioxia, while hedge funds increased bearish bets on names including Omnicom, Hyatt and Lasertec across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
