Markets open August with a heavy earnings calendar, rising short pressure in beaten-down names, and options traders positioning defensively across tech.
The week's biggest catalyst is a packed S&P 500 reporting schedule. MAR kicked things off this morning. AMGN and BKNG report Tuesday after the close. AMGN's $209bn biotech weight makes it the must-watch print. BKNG at $150bn will give a clear read on global travel demand. Pharma names BIIB and REGN also drew analyst target upgrades today. Biotech rotation is building ahead of results.
Bears pushed hard into three high-profile names this week. HTZ sits at 84.6% SI % FF. Availability has hit zero — no shares left to borrow. Squeeze risk is elevated. CHWY is close behind at 82.4% SI % FF, up 10 percentage points in seven days. Cost to borrow remains cheap at 0.5%, so shorts can still add easily. GRPN rallied 96% over three months yet bears won't back off — short interest hit 74.3%.
MU tops the negative options flow leaderboard. The chip stock is up 206% year-to-date. Traders are buying downside protection ahead of its Q3 results. TSLA is near oversold territory with an RSI of 30.56. It's down 31% for the year. Options bears are active despite analysts seeing 29% upside.
Charles Schwab filed sales totalling $19.8M in SCHW shares between July 24 and July 29. Citizens Financial CEO Bruce Van Saun filed a $9.3M disposal. On the analyst side, HAS and pharma names received target lifts. MLM was a rare downgrade as infrastructure spending momentum fades.
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.
