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GOLDMAN SACHS: Hedge funds are betting billions that these 18 stocks are doomed

Here's a list of the 18 hedge fund shorts that have the highest dollar value of short interest outstanding.

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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.

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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:

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18. Target

Subsector: General merchandise stores

Total return year-to-date: -21%

Value of short interest: $1.9 billion

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17. Boeing

Subsector: Aerospace & defense

Total return year-to-date: 16%

Value of short interest: $2 billion

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16. Lam Research

Subsector: Semiconductor equipment

Total return year-to-date: 42%

Value of short interest: $2 billion

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15. Procter & Gamble

Subsector: Household products

Total return year-to-date: 4%

Value of short interest: $2 billion

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14. Simon Property Group

Subsector: Retail REITs

Total return year-to-date: -12%

Value of short interest: $2 billion

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13. CVS Health

Subsector: Drug retail

Total return year-to-date: -2%

Value of short interest: $2 billion

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12. Express Scripts

Subsector: Healthcare services

Total return year-to-date: -14%

Value of short interest: $2 billion

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11. Chevron

Subsector: Integrated oil & gas

Total return year-to-date: -9%

Value of short interest: $2.1 billion

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10. AbbVie

Subsector: Biotechnology

Total return year-to-date: 7%

Value of short interest: $2.2 billion

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9. Intuitive Surgical

Subsector: Healthcare equipment

Total return year-to-date: 36%

Value of short interest: $2.2 billion

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8. Caterpillar

Subsector: Construction machinery & heavy trucks

Total return year-to-date: 10%

Value of short interest: $2.2 billion

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7. ExxonMobil

Subsector: Integrated oil & gas

Total return year-to-date: -8%

Value of short interest: $2.3 billion

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6. General Electric

Subsector: Industrial conglomerates

Total return year-to-date: -12%

Value of short interest: $2.7 billion

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5. Walmart

Subsector: Hypermarkets & supercenters

Total return year-to-date: 14%

Value of short interest: $2.7 billion

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4. Nvidia

Subsector: Semiconductors

Total return year-to-date: 25%

Value of short interest: $3 billion

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3. IBM

Subsector: IT consulting & other services

Total return year-to-date: -8%

Value of short interest: $3 billion

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2. Intel

Subsector: Semiconductors

Total return year-to-date: -1%

Value of short interest: $3.3 billion

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1. AT&T

Subsector: Integrated telecommunications services

Total return year-to-date: -9%

Value of short interest: $5.3 billion

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