Five Stories Driving Markets This Thursday

Short Sellers Circle SpaceX, GameStop Flickers

Short interest in SPCX jumped 7.6 percentage points in a single week, reaching 29.4% of free float. That is one of the largest short builds among large-cap names. Bears appear to be fading the $1.2 trillion space company despite low borrow costs of just 0.56%. Elsewhere, GME short interest spiked to 7.2% of free float on September 23, up from under 1% a week earlier. Borrow remains easy at 240% availability, but the move is drawing attention on social platforms.

Gates Buys, Stevens Sells

Bill Gates filed $492 million in purchases of RSG between late August and early September. That is a strong signal from a major shareholder in the waste management group. On the other side, NVDA board member Mark Stevens filed $411 million in sales on September 2. No 10b5-1 plan was noted, making the size of the sell notable.

Micron Heads Into Earnings on a High

MU is the week's marquee earnings event. The stock is up 276% year-to-date. Short interest is just 2.6% of free float. Options sentiment leans bullish into the print. NKE reports in the same window but from a very different position — down 43% in 2026 with an RSI of 36.6.

Banks Upgraded, Chips Slip

WFC earned an upgrade to Overweight with a $100.37 consensus target. European headlines flagged chip stocks sliding after AI-linked names fell on Wall Street. Defense bucked the trend in Europe, rallying after Ukraine ratified a $105 billion EU loan deal.

Carnival and Nike: Consumer Read Ahead

CCL reports Tuesday with a $30 billion market cap. Cruise demand data will be watched closely as a read on consumer health heading into Q4.