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Cowboy oversees Roaring Kitty stream
Cowboy oversees Roaring Kitty stream (Rachel Pick/Sherwood News)
Shorts, squeezed

A critical driver of GameStop’s parabolic gains in 2021 and 2024 no longer exists

It’s pretty hard to engineer a short squeeze when there aren’t many shorts to squeeze.

Luke Kawa

GameStop recently booked its highest closing price since June 6, supported by overwhelmingly bullish action in the options market. It’s little surprise, then, that social-media buzz around the potential for another frenzy in the shares of the embattled brick-and-mortar retailer intensified in concert with the rally.

There’s one problem. Well, there’s probably multiple problems, but just to highlight one…

(And no, I’m not talking about the company’s operational performance. That hasn’t been a foundational component behind any of the stock’s major up-moves since 2020.)

The issue is that part of the bull case involves chatter like this…

...and this...


…but this time, there is no Melvin Capital or secret, powerful cabal of mustache-twirling Wall Street villains putting major downward pressure on GameStop by shorting the stock. Exchange data show that while around 25% of the float was sold short as the Q2 boom in the stock was taking shape, that share was down to just 8% by the end of November.

S3 Partners, which tracks higher frequency data, noted that as of Wednesday, shorts had also been covering more of these bearish bets month to date.

That means there’s much less potential pent-up forced buying pressure (a so-called “short squeeze”) that could accentuate gains in the event of another round of unbridled investor enthusiasm for the name.

“The short-interest situation now is night and day in GME compared to the meme frenzy,” said Matthew Unterman, managing director at S3 Partners. “Shorts were squeezed out Q2.”

In other words, to book the kind of advances seen in the second quarter of this year or in the first half of 2021, bulls need even more people to join the chorus of those saying, “I like the stock.” Because, likely due to prudent risk-management practices — with zillions of companies out there, surely shorts can find another company with a similar operational profile that doesn’t have such a passionate following — there aren’t a lot of investors out there putting their money where their mouth is to say, “I don’t like the stock.”

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Claire Yubin Oh

Unity soars on strong Q1 preliminary results and news it will exit non-strategic ad business

Unity Software is up around 15% in premarket trading on Friday after the gaming software company announced preliminary results for Q1 2026 that were above guidance, largely driven by its Vector AI ad engine.

Per Unity’s statement released after the bell on Thursday, the company now expects Q1 sales to fall between $505 million to $508 million, above its guidance of $480 million to $490 million, and ahead of analyst expectations of $494 million (compiled by FactSet). The company also now forecasts adjusted EBITDA to land between $130 million and $135 million, topping its guidance for $105 million to $110 million and representing a 58% rise from last year.

In the preliminary report, Unity President and CEO Matt Bromberg highlighted Vector, its AI ad tool that matches players with games, delivering “better long term results” for its advertisers, as a key driver. The company expects ~$352 million from its Grow segment, which includes Vector.

Unity also announced that it will be exiting its ironSource Ads Network starting April 30, which has been waned of late to represent only 11% of total revenue growth in the previous quarter. In addition, Unity has engaged a financial advisor to divest its Supersonic game publishing business, noting that these changes will drive “faster revenue growth, increased Adjusted EBITDA, and higher Adjusted EBITDA margins.”

markets
Matt Phillips

Nasdaq Composite enters correction territory, joining small-cap Russell 2000

The Nasdaq Composite closed down 10.9% from its high of 24,019.99 — reached during intraday trading on October 29 — putting the tech-heavy benchmark conclusively into a “correction.”

A correction is Wall Street’s term of art for a sell-off that’s graver than a garden-variety slump, but not quite as dire as a bear market. (A bear market commences when prices are down 20% from a peak.)

While the proximate cause in the Nasdaq turndown seems to be the war — the Composite is down more than 5% since the start of the conflict on February 28 — it’s worth noting that the index had been stalled out for three months prior to that.

At least Nasdaq investors aren’t alone: the small-cap Russell 2000 slipped into a correction last Friday. The S&P 500 has held up better, relatively speaking, though it, too, is down more than 7% from its intraday high of 7,002.28, which it touched on January 28.

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Max Knoblauch

Hertz and Avis Budget appear to be benefiting as travelers balk at airport wait times

As the Department of Homeland Security shutdown drags on, resulting in some excruciating airport wait times, rental car companies Avis and Hertz are seeing a boost.

Both companies are up more than 10% on Thursday, continuing a weeklong trend of trading momentum. From market close on March 20 to midday Thursday, Avis shares are up about 44%, while Hertz shares are up 24%.

Would-be flyers may be pivoting from sky to highway, even as gas prices climb. According to TravelPulse, search traffic for Hertz is up 15% in recent days.

The TSA is experiencing the longest wait times in its 24-year history, officials have said. Airfares rising as jet fuel prices remain elevated is likely adding to travelers’ decision.

Hertz Reports Spike in Car Rental Searches as US Airports Deal With Long TSA Lines

Hertz Reports Spike in Car Rental Searches as US Airports Deal With Long TSA Lines

Would-be flyers may be pivoting from sky to highway, even as gas prices climb. According to TravelPulse, search traffic for Hertz is up 15% in recent days.

The TSA is experiencing the longest wait times in its 24-year history, officials have said. Airfares rising as jet fuel prices remain elevated is likely adding to travelers’ decision.

markets
Saleah Blancaflor

US gas prices increase $1 in 1 month as markets expect $4 per gallon in coming days

As gas demand remains on the rise in the midst of spring break season and crude oil prices rise as hopes the Iran war will draw down decrease, gas prices have steadily risen.

According to the American Automobile Association, the national average price for a gallon of regular gas is up $0.10 from the previous week and up $1 since last month. AAA reports that there was a steep rise from $2.98 on February 26 to $3.98 as of March 26.

AAA said that average gas prices could hit $4 per gallon in the next few days, which would mark the first time since August 2022 that they’ve hit that level.

According to the Energy Information Administration, demand for gas rose last week from 8.72 million barrels per day to 8.92 million. The data also shows that domestic gas supply fell from 244 million barrels to 241.4 million. Meanwhile, gas production grew last week, averaging 9.7 million barrels per day.

Prediction markets show traders pricing in a 61% chance the price of gas could surpass $4 by the end of the month. As AAA projects that gas prices could continue to rise in the next few weeks, markets also imply there’s a 42% and 40% chance gas could finish roughly around $4.02 or $4.04 per gallon, respectively, by March 31.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

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National gas prices increase one dollar in one month

AAA Fuel Prices

AAA said that average gas prices could hit $4 per gallon in the next few days, which would mark the first time since August 2022 that they’ve hit that level.

According to the Energy Information Administration, demand for gas rose last week from 8.72 million barrels per day to 8.92 million. The data also shows that domestic gas supply fell from 244 million barrels to 241.4 million. Meanwhile, gas production grew last week, averaging 9.7 million barrels per day.

Prediction markets show traders pricing in a 61% chance the price of gas could surpass $4 by the end of the month. As AAA projects that gas prices could continue to rise in the next few weeks, markets also imply there’s a 42% and 40% chance gas could finish roughly around $4.02 or $4.04 per gallon, respectively, by March 31.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

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