Quarter-End Crunch: Bears, Bulls, and Boardroom Exits

US Market: Short Sellers Strike Hard

Quarter-end is shaping up as a battleground. Wolfspeed heads into Monday with short interest at 129.9% of free float — up nearly 27 points in a week. Zero shares remain available to borrow. Bears are all-in. Lucid Group tells a similar story. SI hit 39.2%, and the cost to borrow soared to 77.9% APR. New short positions are nearly impossible to open. Both names carry squeeze risk into the new week.

Chips and transport are where the bulls are gathering. Micron Technology saw consensus price targets nudge higher to $1,410. Wells Fargo upgraded Applied Materials to Buy with a $740 target. Airlines Delta, United, and Southwest all received target hikes. Rail stocks Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern followed suit.

Earnings Ahead

Three big names report Monday, June 30. Nike posts Q4 FY2026 results after the close. All eyes are on CEO Elliott Hill's turnaround progress. Constellation Brands and General Mills — with the highest SI of the trio at 10% of free float — also drop numbers that day.

Insider Activity

ASTS CEO Abel Avellan filed a $146.7M sale on June 23. At Dell, two insiders filed a combined $92.6M in sales. Against the tide, Summit Therapeutics Chairman Robert Duggan filed a $50M purchase — a notable show of confidence.

Europe in Focus

European stocks slid Friday. The defense sector held up after Ukraine ratified a $105B EU loan. EasyJet rejected a £4.9B takeover approach from Castlelake. Oil fell back below pre-Iran-conflict levels as Gulf supply recovered.