Palantir CEO Alex Karp (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty Images)

GameStop short seller targets Palantir

“There’s never been a company that has that type of multiple or that type of P/E that’s not corrected 50%,” Citron Research’s Andrew Left said.

Matt Phillips

8/14/25 11:11AM

Short seller Andrew Left, of Citron Research, spotlighted Palantir’s seemingly absurd valuation in a television appearance Wednesday, suggesting that the retail momentum favorite — the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 this year — could be set up for a serious stumble.

“If this was the greatest company that was ever created and we gave it the same multiples as, let’s say, Nvidia in 2023, the stock still can get cut by two-thirds,” Left said during an appearance on Fox Business, adding that he is shorting the defense data and AI software company as part of a diversified portfolio.

Left is perhaps best known for being one of the short sellers whose bets against GameStop made him a handy foil for individual traders who rallied around the video game retailer’s shares back in 2021.

His issue with Palantir largely comes down to the company’s market valuation, which we — and many others — have previously spotlighted as downright absurd, dwarfing even the most optimistic valuations ever placed on tech giants, even those that actually became some of the greatest money machines in the history of capitalism.

But Palantir’s market multiples have only seemed to get more absurd, especially after it delivered a great Q2 earnings report earlier this month that received rave reviews from analysts.

Left acknowledged that valuation is a terrible tool for marking a turn in market prices, especially for a stock with this much retail participation and momentum behind it.

When asked why he thought he was right about shorting the stock, he admitted, “I’m probably not,” adding, “I mean, it could go higher. It’s part of being a short seller.”

Given the dynamics of stocks with heavy retail participation, where the online rallying cry of “squeeze the shorts” can generate a share and options buying binge that could inflict losses on a short, it does seem a bit strange for a short seller to be such an outspoken critic of such a popular company.

For the record, it might be worth taking some of Left’s public statements with a grain of salt.

In July 2024, he was indicted on multiple counts of securities fraud related to what federal prosecutors called a long-running “market manipulation scheme.” According to the indictment, “While Left made false representations to the public to bolster his credibility, behind the scenes, Left allegedly took contrary trading positions to reap quick profits off the stocks he either promoted or pilloried.”

Last month, Left’s legal request to dismiss the investigation — which argued he was the victim of selective prosecution by a government that sought to suppress his free speech rights — was denied.

That being said, the short seller also has some impressive career wins, including a short report on once-upon-a-time pharma juggernaut Valeant Pharmaceuticals that was followed by the shares losing over 90% of their value and the company ultimately changing its name.

Matt Phillips57m

Duolingo jumps following BofA upgrade

Duolingo shares are down over 60% since hitting their peak last May, as slowing quarterly growth in key metrics like daily active users prompted analysts to sharply cut their long-term estimates for the company’s growth potential.

“We disagree,” Bank of America analysts wrote in a note Monday upgrading the stock to “buy” — from “neutral” — and slapping a $250 target on the stock.

They elaborated:

“Why? Because Duolingo’s value proposition extends beyond education into entertainment — a market investors have largely ignored. With gamified mechanics that rival top casual games and a growing portfolio of fun-first courses like Chess and Music, Duolingo taps into the large audience of mobile users seeking engaging ways to fill idle time. This dual positioning creates a long growth runway.”

In other words, they think addictiveness of the app has more in common with games like Roblox or the various iterations of Microsoft’s “Candy Crush” saga than the market currently understands. And that means that Duolingo can, perhaps, sustain higher long-term growth than investors seem to grok. In short, they argue that Duolingo deserves a more game-like valuation, which it will get as it surprises on growth in the coming years.

“We note that Duolingo’s financial forecast is similar to Roblox, but its multiple is significantly lower, despite its high mix of annual subscription customers,” they said.

Bank of America’s target for the shares is 30% higher than where the stock was trading Monday morning, despite the fact that Duolingo shares were having their best day in about three months. But even if it were to hit $250, the stock will still be more than 50% below its record closing high of $540.68 set last year on May 14.

“Why? Because Duolingo’s value proposition extends beyond education into entertainment — a market investors have largely ignored. With gamified mechanics that rival top casual games and a growing portfolio of fun-first courses like Chess and Music, Duolingo taps into the large audience of mobile users seeking engaging ways to fill idle time. This dual positioning creates a long growth runway.”

“We note that Duolingo’s financial forecast is similar to Roblox, but its multiple is significantly lower, despite its high mix of annual subscription customers,” they said.

Matt Phillips4h

Intel rises in early trading after upgrade

Melius Research gave Intel a lift in early trading with an upgrade to “buy” from “hold,” based partly on optimism that the partially nationalized American chipmaker will find a corporate partner to use its next-generation chip-making process, which is known as 14A.

According to the Fly on the Wall, Melius analysts see a “good chance” that Nvidia and Apple kick the tires on the new technology by 2028-29.

Melius’ new $50 price target for the stock implies a gain of roughly 20% from current levels.

Intel is coming off an astounding year. Why this analyst sees more gains ahead

Melius’ new $50 price target for the stock implies a gain of roughly 20% from current levels.

Max Knoblauch5h

Comcast sinks as it completes the spin-off of most of its cable channels

Shares of cable juggernaut and Peacock parent Comcast sank more than 6% in premarket trading on Monday.

Driving the move was the completion of a separation of most of its cable channels into a separate entity trading as Versant Media.

The spin-off, which you can blame for the MSNBC to MS NOW rebrand (and any resulting logos), was first announced in late 2024. Comcast’s cable channels, including USA Network, Golf Channel, Oxygen, and E!, have all moved under the Versant umbrella, along with digital brands like Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. Comcast will retain NBC, Peacock, and Universal under the new structure.

Comcast isn’t the only cable giant trying to separate itself from cable. The media bidding war target of the moment, Warner Bros. Discovery, announced last year that it would perform a similar split.

Luke Kawa5h

Crypto stocks surge as bitcoin refuses to go down in 2026

We’re on our fifth day of 2026 and bitcoin has gone up in every single one of them, rising about 6% in the process.

The crypto asset is working on its longest streak of gains since October, propelling bitcoin-adjacent stocks higher in premarket trading on Monday, including:

Strategy, even as it announces a $17.44 billion unrealized loss on its crypto holdings in Q4.
Other digital asset treasury companies like Strive Inc. and Trump Media & Technology Group.
Miners MARA Holdings, Riot Platforms, and Hut 8.
Bitcoin miners turned data center stocks IREN and Cipher Mining.
Trading platforms Coinbase and Robinhood Markets.

(Robinhood Markets Inc. is the parent company of Sherwood Media, an independently operated media company subject to certain legal and regulatory restrictions.)

Luke Kawa6h

Micron surges as Foxconn’s sales beat and rivals plan production boosts, underscoring demand for memory chips

The start of the year is bringing more reassuring signs about the longevity and intensity of the AI build-out, letting the good times roll for Micron, with the stock up nearly 4% in premarket trading.

Hon Hai, more commonly known as Foxconn, announced sales about 8% above estimates for Q4, while Korean media reports that Samsung and SK Hynix (which along with Micron make up the power trio in memory chips) are planning to boost production materially this year, in order to take advantage of hot demand and high prices.

Shares of the memory chip specialist are up 40% (and counting) since it announced blowout results for its fiscal Q1 and a stellar outlook on December 17.

Micron’s upward momentum this morning builds on Friday’s more than 10% gain, which contributed to a record-setting outperformance of hardware stocks relative to software stocks — a theme that looks to be carrying into this week, albeit with both groups higher in early trading.