Some stocks are sticking out more than others amid a broader market sell-off. Wall Street has felt pressure from the prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates, which has dampened equities in recent weeks and weakened major indexes. September has been a weak month for the S & P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, with all three on pace to shed 5.2%, 3.4% and 6.7%, respectively. Against this backdrop, hedge funds are placing larger bets by shorting a slew of stocks including C3.ai and U-Haul . Short-selling is a trading strategy that allows investors to benefit as a stock falls in value. To execute this trade, an investor borrows shares and sells the stock at current prices, with intention of purchasing it later at a lower price and pocketing the difference. Here’s a look at some of the most shorted stocks as measured by their relative float, or how many shares have been dispersed for public trading. A float is calculated by subtracting a company’s restricted shares from the total amount of the stock outstanding. In the event that the overall market sell-off stops, however, these stocks could also be in play for a short-squeeze and climb higher. C3.ai has one of the highest short-interest readings on the list of 39.2 million shares through Sept. 15, up from 35.9 million at the end of August. The stock is still up more than 118% from the start of the year, but has posted a steep 20% decline in September alone. The stock initially benefited from the hype around artificial intellegience but more recently investors have questioned how much the company stands to gain from the trend. AI YTD mountain C3.ai stock has slipped roughly 20% in September alone. Clothing brand Guess made the cut with a 8.3 million share short-interest reading in the middle of September, or about 13 of the company’s overall float. That’s up from 7.8 million shares at the conclusion of August. Guess stock has ticked up 1.3% from the start of the year, and has added nearly 8% over the past three months. GES YTD mountain Guess stock. Moving, truck rental and storage company U-Haul saw a staggering 5% rise in short interest to roughly 2 million shares in the middle of September, which equates to roughly 26% of the company’s float. Shares have slipped more than 8% from the start of the year. UHAL YTD mountain U-Haul stock is down more than 8% from the start of 2023. Other stocks that made the list include Intercept Pharmaceuticals , which saw short interest climb 18% from the end of August to the middle of September to 12 million shares. That equates to about 26% of the company’s overall float. However, it shows the potential perils of a short strategy. Shares of the biotech company, which has been working on liver disease treatments, rocketed higher after it agreed to be bought by Italy’s Alfasigma on Tuesday. The deal offered shareholders an 80% premium to where the stock had been trading. Vehicle sales firm Carvana , insurance company Lemonade and coupon company Groupon also made the list.