US markets are closed Friday for the Fourth of July. But behind the holiday calm, several stories are building.
Short sellers are pushing hard on HTZ. Short interest hit 59.2% of free float this week. That's up nearly 11 points in just seven days. Shares available to borrow have dried up completely, leaving existing shorts trapped with nowhere for new pressure to build. CRWV also drew fresh bearish attention. CoreWeave's SI climbed to 28.4% of free float, up 4.8 points. Bears remain skeptical of AI infrastructure valuations. In contrast, QSR saw significant short covering — SI fell almost 6 points to 8.9%.
Analysts cut targets and downgraded consumer names ahead of the holiday. IFF now carries 15 sell ratings and just 5 holds. CL lost a buy vote. Both and Colgate face the same macro headwind: weak pricing power in a cautious consumer environment. The bearish analyst turn aligns with short sellers staying active across the sector.
The holiday break is short-lived. PEP reports Q2 results on Wednesday. It is one of the first Dow components this cycle. Investors will watch volume trends and pricing power closely. LEVI posts Q2 numbers Tuesday. DAL reports later in the week. Taken together, the slate will offer an early read on consumer health and travel demand going into the back half of 2026.
BABA President J. Michael Evans disclosed a $65.8M sale filed July 1. AMAT CEO Gary Dickerson sold $35.2M the same day. Windacre Partnership filed over $161M in sales of PRM. The wave of C-suite and large-holder disposals is the biggest insider story of the week.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
