Q2 Opens With Earnings, Bears, and Insider Exits

Earnings Season Starts Now

Q2 2026 earnings season kicks off today. STZ — Constellation Brands — leads the morning at 8am ET. Tariff pressure on Mexican imports will dominate the call. GIS — General Mills — follows at 9am with Q4 FY2026 numbers. FDS and MSM also report this morning. UK retailer CURY — Currys — drops full-year results tomorrow.

Bears Double Down on AI and Rentals

Short sellers made aggressive moves this week. CRWV — CoreWeave — saw short interest jump nearly 7 points to 28.9% of free float. Bears are openly sceptical of the $43bn AI cloud play. HTZ — Hertz — shot up 18 points to 62.6% of FF. Meanwhile, WOLF — Wolfspeed — remains the most-shorted mid-cap in the US at 132.2% of FF with zero shares available to borrow.

Analysts Move on Cybersecurity and Media

PANW — Palo Alto Networks — got the biggest target raise of the day. BTIG lifted its target to $380 from $333, keeping a Buy rating. FOXA picked up an upgrade. SPG — Simon Property — was downgraded as analysts turn cautious on retail real estate.

Insiders Cash Out Near Highs

Several executives filed large sales this week. Best Buy founder Richard Schulze disclosed $32.7M in BBY sales. Comfort Systems Chairman Franklin Myers filed $13.1M in FIX shares at all-time-high levels. AVGO's Chief Legal Officer filed a $9.7M sale on June 29. The one contrarian bet: media mogul John Malone filed a $5.5M buy in LILA at roughly $4.98 per share.

Europe: BoE Flags AI Trading Risk

The Bank of England raised concerns about AI-driven trading. A senior BoE official told an ECB conference that "kill switches" may be needed. The worry: AI herding behaviour could amplify volatility in a market stress event.