Wall Street's conviction in AI-driven hardware is showing up clearly. SanDisk Corporation is the standout — up 591% year-to-date, yet options flow remains bullish and ORTEX scores the stock at 95. RBC and Wells Fargo both lifted price targets by up to $300, even keeping Hold ratings. That gap between caution and enthusiasm is striking. Dell Technologies also got a boost, with Wells Fargo raising its target to $545. Applied Materials won a fresh Buy initiation from TD Cowen at $700. The FT is echoing the theme — reporting that stellar earnings and falling inflation are fueling a broader US equity rebound. Micron Technology, up 240% year-to-date, leads positive options flow among chip names. NVIDIA and Advanced Micro Devices round out the top five.
The flip side of the tech rally: bears are pressing hard on the weakest names. Wolfspeed short interest hit 85.2% of free float, up 6.9 points in one week. Borrowable shares are effectively exhausted. Replimune saw shorts jump 10.4 points to 37.8%. CoreCivic was a surprise — SI leapt from 2.3% to 10.0% in days.
Three major retailers report next week. Target and Lowe's both hold calls on Tuesday, August 19. Ross Stores follows Wednesday. All three carry low short interest, suggesting the market is positioned constructively. Consumer spending signals from these reports will set the tone into September.
BORR Drilling's founder Tor Olav Troim bought $6M in stock on August 13 — a direct bet on the offshore driller's recovery.
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.
