UBS has released its July 2026 quantitative assessment of crowded trades within the consumer staples sector, identifying which stocks show the highest concentration of long and short positions among eligible fund managers.
According to the bank's analysis, the names with the most concentrated long exposure are SJM, CL, UTZ, HELE, MKC, and PG. UBS describes crowded long positions as stocks owned by a high percentage of the eligible fund universe.
On the short side, UBS lists BYND, CLX, EPC, ELF, KDP, and HSY as the most crowded short positions. The firm defines these crowded shorts as names that a high percentage of eligible funds are betting against.
UBS highlights that a crowded position in itself does not constitute a reliable predictor of future stock performance. To better capture potentially significant shifts in positioning, the bank applies its proprietary "Crowding Momentum" score, which combines concentration metrics with recent changes in positioning and relative price performance.
Within the consumer staples sector for July 2026, UBS reported that no stocks met the criteria for crowded long momentum. In UBS's framework, crowded long momentum requires that a stock be already crowded on the long side, have become more crowded over the prior three months, and have experienced a one-month price return that underperformed the global stock universe.
By contrast, UBS identified ELF and EPC as exhibiting crowded short momentum. That classification indicates these names are heavily shorted, that short positioning has become more concentrated over the past three months, and that their recent price performance has outpaced the broader market.
For investors and market participants tracking fund positioning, UBS's monthly quantitative screen provides a snapshot of where long and short concentrations are highest in consumer staples. The bank's note underscores the distinction between raw crowding measures and momentum-based signals, and it flags two names where short exposure and price action have moved in tandem.
Readers should note that the report focuses on concentration metrics and the bank's Crowding Momentum construct; UBS does not claim that these signals constitute definitive predictions of future returns.