Shorts Pile In, Earnings Week Looms Large

Short Sellers on the Move

Bears are picking their targets fast this week. CBRS (Cerebras Systems) saw short interest leap nearly 20 percentage points in seven days, hitting 25.6% of free float. That is one of the sharpest single-week moves on record for a US-listed AI stock. The rental car space remains a crowded short. CAR (Avis Budget) sits at 45.8% SI % FF and HTZ (Hertz) at 44.5%. Both added over 4 percentage points on the week. BIRK (Birkenstock) climbed to 30.2%, with cost to borrow hitting 16.7% APR. In contrast, WOLF (Wolfspeed) shorts are retreating despite 96% SI % FF — squeeze pressure is building there.

Earnings Calendar Heats Up

CrowdStrike reports Tuesday June 17. Options put skew is rising ahead of the print. Short interest is just 3% of free float. But the options market is pricing caution. Wednesday brings two big consumer names. Kroger and CarMax both report Q1 results at 8am ET. Grocery margins and used-car demand will be the key reads.

Analysts Cut Homebuilders and Food

Analysts trimmed targets on Lennar and General Mills today. GIS carries 9.3% short interest — the highest among the names reviewed. Darden Restaurants was the one bright spot, receiving a consensus target upgrade.

Insider Split

Five TJX executives sold over $21M in stock across three days. Going the other way, activist Ed Garden bought $13M of FBIN (Fortune Brands Innovations) — a public signal of confidence from a known operational activist.