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Luke Kawa

Michael Burry announcement spurs most GameStop retail buying since the retailer’s pivot to bitcoin

“The Big Short” is now “The Big Catalyst.”

Michael Burry’s Substack post on Monday, in which he announced that he owns GameStop and had been buying the stock recently, was a spark for retail traders to follow in his footsteps.

The revelation spurred a wave of activity around the stock, especially in short-term options. Call volumes were north of 695,000 on Monday, more than 4.5x their 20-day average.

Per JPMorgan analyst Arun Jain, the net retail imbalance in GameStop shares is the most positive since late Q1 2025.

JPM Daily Retain Imbalance in GameStop
Source: JPMorgan

That timeline loosely aligns with the release of GameStop’s fourth-quarter results for 2024 on March 25 of last year, wherein the company booked its largest operating profit since Q4 2017.

More importantly for retail demand, management also confirmed that the board had unanimously approvedits ability to start buying bitcoin.

That affirmed the worst-kept secret in finance, with reports about potential crypto buying having picked up steam after GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen posted a picture with Strategy founder Michael Saylor.

Ahead of that report, positioning in GameStop options was tilted decisively to the bull side as traders hoped for a crypto confirmation-induced bump.

(Ironically, there’s current speculation that this very pivot to bitcoin is something the company might be shifting away from, as GameStop has moved its crypto holdings from cold storage to Coinbase Prime.)

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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