Bears are pressing hard on chips heading into earnings season. The SOXX iShares Semiconductor ETF carries 17.9% short interest as a percentage of free float. Its cost to borrow has jumped to 2.21% APR. Borrow availability sits at just 46.8% — scarce and getting scarcer. NVDA remains a focal point after Michael Burry publicly defended his prior short thesis, rejecting claims he was wrong on the name. Separately, analyst Dan Niles called the AI chip selloff a "speed bump" and flagged NVDA's Vera Rubin architecture as a long-term demand driver. AAPL may also benefit from a potential China memory exemption, per Niles.
Analysts downgraded both JBHT and ODFL on the same session. That double downgrade signals broad caution on freight and truckload demand. Meanwhile, semiconductor equipment got the opposite treatment. saw its average target rise to $219.89 from $214.21. Insurance names including and also attracted positive attention from analysts.
PEP reports Wednesday. DAL follows Thursday. LEVI also drops Q2 results mid-week. All three face macro headwinds. FT Markets flagged rising S&P 500 earnings forecasts running at their fastest pace since the Covid rebound — fuelling talk of an "earnings bubble."
CRWV short interest jumped 4.7 points to 28.4% of free float in five days. WOLF remains the most shorted large-cap name at 111.9%. Oil sentiment adds a macro layer — Citi forecasts Brent could fall to $60 by Christmas, a bearish signal for energy-exposed names and a potential tailwind for airline reporters like Delta.
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