Q3 Kicks Off With Bears, Big Sales, and Nike in the Crossfire

Short Sellers in Focus

July 1 marks the first day of Q3 — and bears are starting aggressively. Wolfspeed leads the pain trade. Short interest hit 114.8% of free float, up nearly 15 points in seven days. Shares to borrow have dried up entirely. Lucid Group bears are paying 148% annually to hold short positions. That extreme cost, combined with near-zero availability, is a setup options traders watch closely for sudden reversals.

Nike Under Pressure

Nike is catching heat from multiple directions today. BNP Paribas reiterates Underperform with a $23 target. Bernstein cut its target to $72. Baird holds Outperform at $70. The divided analyst camp reflects deep uncertainty over Nike's turnaround timeline heading into Q3.

Walmart Slowdown Signals

Walmart shares traded lower after a research note circulated suggesting US comparable sales "appear to have slowed to some degree." The retailer is reportedly using tariff refunds to offset lower prices. That is a potential risk to consensus estimates if the trend continues into July.

Europe: Stellantis Beats, H&M Buying Continues

Stellantis reported 634,187 US vehicle sales in H1 2026 — up 5% year-on-year. June sales jumped 10%. That is a meaningful beat against expectations for the struggling automaker. Across Stockholm, the Persson family filed $110 million in fresh H&M share purchases last week, reinforcing the founding family's confidence in the Swedish fashion giant.

Insider Activity

A hedge fund unloaded $196 million in Perimeter Solutions stock over five days. That is one of the largest single-seller disposals filed this week. Meanwhile, Nexstar CEO Perry Sook bought nearly $2 million of Nexstar Media shares — a notable vote of confidence from the top.