Heavy Earnings, Bear Raids, and Big Insider Exits

Earnings Season at Peak

July 28 is one of the busiest days of the season. More than 30 S&P 500 companies report today. KO and UPS kicked off the morning. BA reports this afternoon, with cash burn and delivery numbers in focus after a difficult year. PYPL, SPGI, and RCL also report. Royal Caribbean has been a standout performer. Any guidance upgrade could lift the wider cruise sector.

Bears Double Down on Consumer and Auto

Short sellers sharpened their claws on two distressed names. CHWY short interest jumped from 63.3% to 79.2% of free float in a single week. HTZ rose from 69.5% to 78.6%. Both names have zero shares available to borrow. WOLF holds above 82% SI % FF with a cost to borrow of 6.4%. That is extreme positioning in the silicon carbide chipmaker. Options flow confirmed the bearish tone. Semiconductor names MU and NVDA topped the leaderboard for negative options bets this week.

Insiders Head for the Exit

Large holders moved fast. Silver Lake sold $228 million of DELL shares through early July. Billionaire Carlos Slim sold over $130 million of PBF Energy stock across four weeks. Bessemer Venture Partners dumped $117 million of TTAN. These are not routine trades — they span board-level holders making deliberate exits.

Analysts Split on Tech

INTU was cut to Sell today. Its consensus target dropped to $456. By contrast, FFIV saw its target rise to $433. Power stocks also got a lift: VST now holds 18 buy ratings. Autonomous vehicle headlines added noise — BIDU and LYFT began road-testing sixth-gen robotaxis in London today. GEV won a hydro turbine contract at Dinorwig in Wales.