Chips, Bears, and Earnings Collide

US Market Highlights

Semiconductors are at the heart of this week's action. Micron Technology is the marquee earnings event, reporting Q3 results after Wednesday's close. Investors want clarity on AI-driven memory demand. Options activity is heavy. The ORTEX total score sits at 91.0, with momentum at 90.6 — bulls are leaning in hard.

FedEx reports Thursday after the close. Traders see it as a global trade signal. Near-dated options are busy around the June 26 expiry. Carnival Corporation opens the week Tuesday with Q2 results, and short interest is a low 2.5% of free float — few bears are pressing.

Insiders Take Chips Off the Table

The insider story is hard to ignore. Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson filed $80.6M in stock sales this week. CTO Omkaram Nalamasu filed another $11.3M the same day. Four senior AMAT executives sold within 48 hours. The stock has rallied sharply alongside the broader chip sector. Insiders appear to be locking in gains.

Over at Argan, five insiders filed $41.8M in combined sales. Chairman William Griffin alone sold $32.2M worth of shares.

Short Interest: Bears Target AI Names

Short sellers are piling into AI. SharonAI saw SI jump 41.7 percentage points in one week, hitting 54.5% of free float. Cerebras Systems attracted fresh pressure too, climbing to 32.4% SI. Wolfspeed remains the most extreme case — SI at 103% of free float, zero shares to borrow, and bankruptcy proceedings underway.

Crypto miners are running the other way. CleanSpark shorts covered, with SI falling to 31.9%.

Analyst Watch

Accenture faced meaningful target cuts. Consensus dropped to $197.65 from $208.16. Thirteen Holds and 15 Sells signal real caution on IT services demand. Eli Lilly and Take-Two Interactive both received modest target upgrades.