AI Deals and Costco Beats Drive Wednesday's Action

Akamai's Mega AI Deal

Akamai Technologies grabbed the day's biggest headline. The stock soared after announcing an $11.6 billion deal with Anthropic. It is one of the largest AI infrastructure contracts of the year. The White House also moved to restrict Microsoft and Google AI model access for UK testers. That injected fresh regulatory uncertainty into the sector. Options flow showed defensive positioning in both names despite their low short scores.

Costco Beats, Micron Looms

Costco reported Q4 results after the bell today. Revenue and earnings both beat estimates. The warehouse giant carries a $401 billion market cap. Short interest is just 1.7% of free float — bears have no conviction here. Looking ahead, all eyes turn to Micron Technology on September 30. The memory chip giant is up 276% year-to-date. Bearish options flow is building — a classic mean-reversion bet ahead of results.

Shorts Pile Into Meme Names

Short sellers returned to GameStop this week. SI jumped to 7.2% of free float from 0.9% just seven days ago. Cost to borrow remains cheap at 0.46%, making the trade easy to put on. SPCX also saw short interest climb to 29.4% from 21.8%.

Europe: Construction Cuts, Kier Ahead

Analyst consensus targets fell across construction materials today. Martin Marietta Materials, Vulcan Materials, and CRH all saw price targets trimmed. UK construction firm Kier Group reports full-year results tomorrow — a read on infrastructure spending in Britain.

Insider Confidence at Uber

Uber President and COO Andrew MacDonald filed a $4.1 million open-market purchase of Uber shares. Short interest sits at just 2.1% of free float. The combination of C-level buying and minimal short pressure points to broad market confidence in the name.