Chips, Bears, and a Big Week Ahead

The Big Picture

Markets are navigating a busy stretch. A hawkish shift in US rate expectations is rattling global currencies. The dollar is strengthening and emerging market bets are unwinding fast. Meanwhile a US-Iran deal has eased oil market fears for now. Asia-Pacific markets moved higher on the diplomacy. European stocks are catching a bid from the Ukraine-EU loan deal.

Micron and Chips in Focus

MU is the week's marquee earnings event. It reports Q3 results Wednesday after the close. The stock has rallied 200% from its April low. AI-driven memory demand is the key theme. Options activity is piling up across 23 expiry dates. Analysts want guidance on HBM chip supply for H2. NVDA sits nearby with a $5.1 trillion market cap and just 1.3% short interest — bulls remain firmly in charge there.

Short sellers are taking the other side in chips elsewhere. Wolfspeed has hit 103% SI as a percentage of free float — more shares short than its entire free float. Cerebras Systems jumped nearly 7 points in a week to 32.4%.

Earnings and Analyst Moves

FedEx reports Q4 Tuesday after the close. Volume trends and cost cuts are the focus. Carnival posts Q2 Tuesday morning — cruise demand has held firm. Analysts cut targets on ACN and LULU, reflecting AI margin concerns and consumer caution. TTWO was the bright spot — 28 Buy ratings and a rising target as GTA VI hype builds.

Insider Signal at Applied Materials

AMAT insiders filed over $70M in sales in two days. CEO Gary Dickerson led the selling. At the same time, SMMT saw three executives buy shares worth over $51M — a rare show of coordinated confidence from biotech's top team.