Bears Load Up as Earnings Week Looms

The Dominant Theme: Pre-Earnings Short Pressure

Bears are firmly in the driving seat heading into a busy earnings stretch. CRWV is the week's focal point. Short interest rose to 17.8% of free float — up 1.65 percentage points in a week. CEO share sales into weakness have amplified the bearish case before the June 8 print. Options expiries cluster tightly around that date.

BBAI is in an even tighter spot. Short interest sits at 26.5% of free float. Borrow availability has collapsed to just 2.3% — bears have almost no room to add more. CBRL carries 28.6% SI % FF ahead of Tuesday's print, barely changed week-on-week.

Insider Signals: Bold Buys vs. Quiet Exits

The most striking buy signal this week comes from NCLH. Director Steve Pagliuca filed $25M in purchases across two days. CEO John Chidsey added another $2.5M shortly before. Three insiders buying in two weeks is rare. HOOD saw Ribbit Capital and Director Meyer Malka file combined purchases of over $50M on June 3.

On the other side, WMT saw the Walton family trust file a $184M sale. Analysts remain bullish on Walmart regardless, with 37 buy ratings and a nudged-up consensus target.

Macro & Sector Watch

The FT flagged Nasdaq tumbling 4% as chip and memory stocks sank — a sign AI trade nerves persist. Hedge funds are now betting against call centre stocks as AI disruption risk grows. Utilities faced broad analyst target cuts this week. Sempra, Duke Energy, and American Electric Power all saw trims on higher-for-longer rate fears.

Looking ahead, Oracle and Adobe both report next week. AI revenue growth will be the main focus for both.