ZACKSยท2025-08-21 11:31Core Insights - Short sellers are profiting significantly from bets against AI stocks, accumulating $5.6 billion in just two trading sessions as concerns about the AI boom's sustainability grow [1] - Major tech companies, particularly Meta, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, and Alphabet, have experienced notable declines, with short bets against them yielding $2.8 billion in profits for investors [2] - Outside of the major tech firms, companies like Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom, Micron, and CoreWeave have faced even steeper losses, with CoreWeave dropping 24% [3] Company-Specific Developments - Meta has seen a 4% decline over the past five sessions, with short sellers increasing their positions to $4.7 billion, resulting in $1.1 billion in profits [4] - Palantir, which had previously surged over 150% since April, has now fallen over 15%, leading to more than $1 billion in gains for short sellers [4] Market Sentiment and Speculation - A report from MIT's Project NANDA indicated that 95% of companies studied are not seeing returns on AI investments, contributing to a shift in market sentiment [5] - OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggested the industry may be in a bubble similar to the dot-com crash, with limited applications for AI outside of chatbots and search [6] Future Outlook - Some analysts, like Dan Ives from Wedbush, remain optimistic about the AI sector, viewing the current pullback as temporary and predicting continued market growth driven by AI investments [7] - For those skeptical about AI stock valuations, inverse tech-based ETFs have gained traction, with several ETFs showing positive performance [8]