The chip sector grabbed the spotlight on August 13. Options traders are placing heavy bets on both sides of Micron Technology and Sandisk Corporation. Micron is up 219% year-to-date. Sandisk has surged 466%. The two-way flow signals real uncertainty about whether the rally holds. NVIDIA attracted heavy put flow despite a 20% gain in 2026. Advanced Micro Devices, up 125%, drew strong call activity. Applied Materials (AMAT) reported Q3 results today, a key read on semiconductor capital spending.
Citigroup cut its target on Lowe's to $267 from $285, citing housing market pressure. Williams-Sonoma got a target lift from both Citi and Telsey Advisory Group, with Telsey raising to $255. That stock is drawing cautious optimism as discretionary spending holds up. Lowe's and Target both report earnings on August 19. Home Depot follows on Tuesday. Retail will set the tone for consumer health this week.
Five insiders at Life Time Group Holdings filed sales totalling $466 million. Directors John Danhakl and John Galashan each sold $221 million. CEO Bahram Akradi added $19.5 million in sales. That scale of coordinated selling is the most striking cluster of the past month. At Charles Schwab, four insiders sold a combined $48 million in filings dated August 11.
Short sellers piled into American Healthcare REIT. Short interest jumped 40.6% in one week to 13.9% of free float. Meanwhile, Intuit shorts unwound positions ahead of earnings, with SI falling 21% to 4.3% of free float. In Europe, Zalando board member Anders Holch Povlsen filed purchases of roughly $4.5 million, a notable vote of confidence from within.
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