Bears and Earnings Collide in a Turbulent August Open

Markets kick off August with earnings season at full tilt and short sellers pressing their bets across multiple sectors.

Earnings Calendar Dominates

Over 1,800 companies report this week. Today alone sees Marriott International and Vertex Pharmaceuticals dropping results. Tuesday brings biotech heavyweights Amgen and Gilead Sciences, plus travel platform Booking Holdings. Wednesday is the busiest day. CVS Health reports at 8am, followed by eBay and Motorola Solutions after the close. Salesforce is also on the radar. The stock has rallied hard into its print, though analysts flag that valuation has already re-rated sharply higher.

Short Sellers Double Down

Bears are not standing aside. Hertz short interest sits at 35% of free float — up sharply — with 13.5 days to cover and the stock down 69% year-to-date. RSI at 26.7 signals oversold territory. Avis Budget is similarly pressured, at 36.2% SI. The entire car rental sector is firmly in bears' crosshairs. Chewy shorts rebuilt aggressively, with SI reaching 82.4% ahead of August earnings. Availability remains wide at 460%, leaving plenty of room to add.

AI and Options Tension

SoundHound AI heads into earnings with a short score of 81.3 and costs to borrow still rising. Shorts are trapped but haven't bailed. The stock is down 38.5% in 2026. That combination typically means elevated options premiums and volatile post-earnings moves.

Exec Selling Picks Up

C-suite selling accelerated through the week. Citizens Financial Group CEO Bruce Van Saun filed a $9.3M sale. SkyWest CEO Chip Childs sold $4.1M worth of shares. Founder selling at Medpace also attracted attention. On the buy side, Albertsons saw a $1.96M insider purchase — one of the few notable bullish filings of the week.