markets

Matt Phillips12/13/24

SoundHound AI hits record amid apparent short squeeze

Retail-trading favorite SoundHound AI on Friday closed at a record high amid a surge of trading that bore all the signs of a short squeeze.

The California-based small cap, which sells voice-AI software for use in devices like televisions and service vendors like restaurants, has been on a remarkable run this year, rising about 700% amid euphoric trading of AI-related companies.

By any traditional standard of value, the enthusiasm has gotten out of hand. The company — which since going public via a SPAC in early 2022 has never turned a profit — is trading at a price-to-next-12-month-sales ratio of nearly 40x. (Amazon.com, for comparison, one of the world’s great businesses, has a price-to-sales ratio of between 3x and 5x. Even at its peak in 1999, it had a price-to-sales ratio of only about 22x.)

Such signs of euphoria have attracted attention from short sellers betting that financial reality will eventually pull the stock back to earth. Short interest in the stock has been building steadily through the year to more than 25% of SoundHound’s float.

Alas, the downturn shorts were betting on didn’t materialize, and upward pressure on the stock price — seemingly aided and abetted by a record rise in call-option trading — appeared to make holding the trade too painful on Friday.

Shorts, when they throw the towel in on a trade, often rush to buy the shares they need to “cover” at any price, generating a sharp pop in the shares similar to Friday’s nearly 25% jump in SoundHound AI.

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Tasha Matsumoto, Luke Kawa

S&P 500 just barely notches third consecutive all-time high in record day for call volumes

The S&P 500 just barely managed to pull off a three-peat, despite five of the Mag 7 stocks trading lower.

Chicago Bulls players Dennis Rodman (L), Scottie Pippen (C) and Michael Jordan (R) hold three of the team's four recent Larry O'Brien trophies 18 June at a rally for the team in Grant Park in Chicago.

10/3/25

10/3/25

Automakers spike on report that Trump administration is considering tariff relief

The Trump administration is considering significant tariff relief for many major automakers, according to reporting by Reuters.

“The signal to the car companies around the world is, look, you have final assembly in the US, we’re going to reward you,” Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno told Reuters. “For Ford, for Toyota, for Honda, for Tesla, for GM, those are the almost in order the top five domestic content vehicle producers — they’ll be immune to tariffs.”

The senator told Reuters that President Trump could potentially extend the higher levels of tariff offsets announced by the Commerce Department in June.

According to the White House, Moreno’s comments should be considered “speculative,” but shares of vehicle makers including Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda, and Stellantis all rose after the report came out.

markets

Matt Phillips10/3/25

Palantir disputes report of flaws in Army product

Palantir says security vulnerabilities with a prototype battlefield communications product highlighted in a September 5 Army memorandum have already been addressed, according to a Bloomberg report.

The company said any conclusions that the product was seriously flawed, drawn from reports in Reuters and an online publication known as Breaking Defense, were “out of date and inaccurate.”

Separately, Army officials also told Breaking Defense that deficiencies with the battlefield communication product were “mitigated immediately.”

Going into the last hour of trading, Palantir shares were on track for their worst day since August in the wake of the reports.

Palantir Rebuts Claims of Security Flaws After Stock Falls

Palantir Rebuts Claims of Security Flaws After Stock Falls

Separately, Army officials also told Breaking Defense that deficiencies with the battlefield communication product were “mitigated immediately.”

Going into the last hour of trading, Palantir shares were on track for their worst day since August in the wake of the reports.

markets

J. Edward Moreno10/3/25

Novo says it will offer weight-loss pill via telehealth, Bloomberg reports

Hims & Hers slipped after Novo Nordisk’s US head, David Moore, told Bloomberg that the company plans to sell its upcoming weight-loss pill through its current telehealth partners.

The company’s weight-loss pill recently reported encouraging results in a late-stage trial.

Novo currently has partnerships with Hims competitors like Ro and Weight Watchers. Hims had a deal with Novo earlier this year, which blew up epically in less than two months.

Novo Plans to Make Obesity Pill Available Online Once Approved

Novo Plans to Make Obesity Pill Available Online Once Approved

markets

Nia Warfield10/3/25

Shopify soars after Rothschild Redburn hikes price target to $200

Shopify popped nearly 7% Friday afternoon after Rothschild Redburn reiterated its “buy” rating and raised its price target to $200 from $180, tying the highest on Wall Street and about 23% above current levels.

The firm pointed to Shopify’s new partnership with OpenAI’s ChatGPT as a key growth driver, saying it opens up a fresh sales channel that, for now, only Shopify and Etsy merchants can tap into.

Analysts also highlighted that unlike the Magnificent 7 tech names, Shopify can fold AI revenue into its model without heavy capital spending, meaning those contributions could offer a quick boost to free cash flow.

On that note, the firm also bumped its 2025 to 2027 earnings estimates by about 6% to 8%. Shopify shares have already more than doubled over the past year and are up roughly 50% year to date.

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