The stocks that investors love to hate are getting shellacked

This is what the opposite of a short squeeze looks like.

A basket of 50 heavily shorted stocks tracked by Goldman Sachs with market caps of at least $1 billion apiece is down 3.2% on the day as of 1:30 p.m. ET, undoing what had been a very strong start to the year.

There’s a fair amount of overlap between this list and some of the best-performing US stocks over the past 50 days that are seeing some of those gains evaporate today, like Archer Aviation and SoundHound AI.

Other once-upon-a-time meme stock Plug Power and crypto proxy MARA Holdings, both heavily shorted names, are also getting rinsed.

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Nate Becker4h

WSJ reports GameStop is preparing an offer for eBay and has quietly been building a stake in the company

GameStop is preparing an offer for eBay and has been quietly building a stake in the company, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal, a move it calls “part of CEO Ryan Cohen’s audacious plan to turn the trailer into a $100 billion-plus juggernaut.”

From WSJ:

GameStop, which has a market value of around $12 billion, has been quietly building a stake in eBay’s shares ahead of a potential offer, the people said. EBay is several times GameStop’s size, with a market value of around $46 billion.
GameStop could submit an offer for eBay as soon as later this month, the people said.
If eBay isn’t receptive, Cohen could decide to take the offer directly to eBay’s shareholders, one of the people added. Details of the potential offer for eBay couldn’t be learned.

Shares of GameStop rose 7.4% after hours following the report, while eBay soared 12%.

GameStop Preparing Offer for eBay

GameStop, which has a market value of around $12 billion, has been quietly building a stake in eBay’s shares ahead of a potential offer, the people said. EBay is several times GameStop’s size, with a market value of around $46 billion.
GameStop could submit an offer for eBay as soon as later this month, the people said.
If eBay isn’t receptive, Cohen could decide to take the offer directly to eBay’s shareholders, one of the people added. Details of the potential offer for eBay couldn’t be learned.

Shares of GameStop rose 7.4% after hours following the report, while eBay soared 12%.

Tasha Matsumoto

Stocks set second consecutive closing highs

The S&P 500 posted its fifth weekly gain, its longest weekly winning streak since 2024.

Chicago Bulls Dennis Rodman (91), Scottie Pippen (33) and Michael Jordan (23) during game vs Miami Heat. Miami, FL 2/23/1996

Max Knoblauch11h

US airlines pop on report Spirit preparing to shut down as government rescue deal fails to gain support

US airlines are spiking on Friday following a Wall Street Journal report that low-budget carrier Spirit Airlines is preparing to shut down. According to CBS News, the airline could cease operations as early as Saturday, barring an intervention.

In late April, President Trump said he would “love somebody to buy Spirit.” The administration weighed a $500 million rescue package, though it received significant blowback from members of Congress and ultimately didn’t receive support from Spirit’s creditors.

On Friday, Trump told reporters that the administration has given Spirit a “final proposal.”

Shares of Spirit’s rivals surged on the report, with budget carriers like Frontier Airlines and JetBlue climbing by double digits. The big four — Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines — rose by low single digits. Alaska Air and Allegiant also saw a bump.

Helena Cheng11h

Estée Lauder gets a glow-up after earnings beat, guidance hike

Estée Lauder shares are soaring after the beauty giant released Q3 earnings results that topped expectations and raised its full-year outlook, while also expanding its restructuring plan.

The key numbers:

Revenue of $3.71 billion (compared to analysts’ estimate of $3.69 billion).
Adjusted earnings per share of $0.91 (estimate: $0.65).

Estée Lauder also lifted its full-year earnings outlook to a range of $2.35 to $2.45 per share, up from $2.05 to $2.25 previously.

The bottom line is getting flattered by job cuts, with management increasing that target to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a prior range of 5,800 to 7,000, as part of a broader effort to streamline operations and shift toward faster-growing sales channels.

The rally comes after a tough stretch for the stock, which is down more than 20% year to date, with the results inspiring hope that its turnaround efforts will bear fruit.

CEO Stéphane de La Faverie said fiscal 2026 is “promising to be the pivotal year we intended,” with the company expecting to restore organic sales growth and expand margins for the first time in four years.

Amid these positive signals, Estée Lauder flagged risks from tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and potential disruptions tied to the Middle East.

Matt Phillips

12h

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Stocks like Dell, Intel, Sandisk, Western Digital, and Cisco are on fire.

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