Markets Digest AI Bets, REIT Retreat, and a Gold Slide

AI Names Dominate the Headlines

The AI trade is pulling in opposite directions today. Arm Holdings leads options activity after a fresh Wall Street upgrade on agentic AI catalysts. Short interest sits at 13.3% of free float, yet availability is wide at 373% — suggesting two-way conviction rather than a one-sided squeeze. Meanwhile, NVIDIA insiders filed over $220M in share sales this week, with director Mark Stevens dumping 1 million shares near $220 each. Bernstein raised its Oracle target to $325, maintaining Outperform — another sign that AI infrastructure spending still has buy-side backing.

REIT Sector Under Pressure

Healthcare REITs took a double hit today. Morgan Stanley downgraded Alexandria Real Estate Equities to Underweight. Healthpeak Properties was also cut, and ORTEX data shows its short interest jumped 20.6% in a single week to 3.27% of free float. Lab tenant credit concerns are driving the selloff. Bears and analysts are singing from the same sheet here.

Earnings in Focus

Adobe and Lennar report Q2 results today after the close. Adobe carries a $94B market cap and faces persistent AI competition pressure, with 4.8% short interest. CarMax follows Tuesday with bears holding 11.7% of float — any soft used-car data will sting.

Gold Slips, InterDigital Pops

Gold is pulling back today. At least one strategist flagged the drop in advance, with miners Newmont feeling the pressure. On the upside, InterDigital rose sharply after landing a major patent licensing deal with Amazon covering streaming technology.