Chips, Shorts, and a Housing Beat: September 22 Wrap

Semiconductors Dominate the Session

Chips are the day's defining story — and traders are split. Micron tops both the bullish and bearish options leaderboards heading into its Q4 results. Advanced Micro Devices mirrors that divided picture. The stock is up 187% year-to-date. Options traders are hedging while still buying upside. Michael Burry reportedly bet against the memory boom, adding to the bearish narrative around NVIDIA and Applied Materials. CNBC noted the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed lower as a chip-stock rebound faded.

Defense Bears Circle HII

Huntington Ingalls Industries flashed a sharp warning sign today. Its put-call ratio hit 1.034 — a four-standard-deviation spike above its 20-day average of 0.821. The stock has fallen 7.4% in the past month. Bearish options positioning is at a peak.

KB Home Beats on Housing

KB Home delivered a Q3 double beat today. Revenue and earnings topped estimates despite the company's own description of a "weakening" housing market. It's a closely watched read for US real estate. Results arrive as Costco, Darden, and General Mills line up for earnings later this week.

GME Short Interest Explodes

GameStop saw short interest rocket over 700% in seven days to 7.15% of free float. The move echoes past squeeze setups. Wolfspeed remains the most structurally shorted name at 81.2% SI % FF, with zero shares available to borrow.

Analyst Moves: Meta and Refiners

Jefferies raised its Meta price target to $875 from $710. The same bank cut both Marathon Petroleum and Valero to Hold, citing margin pressure. European markets saw defense stocks rally after Ukraine ratified a $105 billion EU loan deal. A UK-listed paint maker surged after rejecting a $14.5 billion takeover bid.