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Leopold Aschenbrenner’s fund places big bearish bets against NVDA. (0:15) Home Depot issues upbeat annual guidance. (2:13) Solar eclipse travel boosts United Airlines bookings. (3:16)

This is an abridged transcript of the podcast:

Our top story so far, a hedge fund launched by former OpenAI (OPENAI) researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner has placed sizable bearish bets against Nvidia (NVDA) and other leading AI chip stocks.

Aschenbrenner, who previously worked on OpenAI’s alignment team and gained attention for his 2024 paper on AI risks, launched the Situational Awareness fund earlier this year.

Business Insider reported that the fund’s latest 13F disclosed roughly $1.56B in put options on Nvidia and more than $2B in bearish positions tied to the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH).

The filing also showed large put positions against Broadcom (AVGO), Oracle (ORCL), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), ASML (ASML) and Intel (INTC).

The positioning comes as Bank of America’s May Fund Manager Survey shows long global semiconductors as the most crowded trade, cited by 73% of respondents — a sharp jump from 24% in April. “Long Magnificent 7” ranked a distant second at 14%.

And if you’re rethinking concentration risk in the AI trade — or simply looking to diversify income exposure — it’s your last chance to register for the Best Income Ideas Online Summit, happening Wednesday, May 20.

It’s hosted by George Noble — a legend from his days at Fidelity — in collaboration with Seeking Alpha, and features Michael Howell, J Mintzmyer, Luke Gromen, Steven Cress and others sharing their top income ideas for this market.

Also in the BofA survey, money managers are piling into stocks while slashing cash levels amid the recent rally.

May saw a record surge in equity allocations, jumping from a net 13% overweight to 50% overweight — the highest level since January 2022.

At the same time, cash levels fell to 3.9% from 4.3%, the biggest monthly drop since February 2024. Cash below 4% historically triggers a sell signal.

With the Bull & Bear Indicator a “chip shot” from flashing its own sell signal, strategist Michael Hartnett said, “bull capitulation is almost complete” and early June is “ripe for profit-taking.”

Among active stocks, Home Depot (HD) reported revenue and comparable sales above expectations. The first quarter is key for the retailer, capturing the core spring selling season.

Looking ahead, Home Depot sees FY27 revenue of $168.8B to $172.1B versus $171.2B consensus. Full-year EPS is projected at $14.69 to $15.28, compared with $15.01 consensus.

Citi nearly doubled its price target on Micron Technology (MU) to $840 from $425, citing expectations for higher DRAM pricing.

Analysts forecast a 40% or greater increase in Q2 following Samsung’s price hikes, with further upside expected for high-bandwidth memory next year.

Meanwhile, several space and aerospace stocks are sliding as investors rotate away from speculative growth names amid rising Treasury yields and inflation concerns.

Rocket Lab (RKLB) led declines among larger-cap space names, while Sidus Space (SIDU) dropped more than 10%. Other decliners included MDA Space (MDA), Virgin Galactic (SPCE), Intuitive Machines (LUNR) and Red Cat Holdings (RCAT).

And in other news of note, United Airlines (UAL) is seeing double-digit booking growth for the summer, with about 53M passengers expected to fly — roughly 3M more than a year ago.

Bookings have surged more than 50% to destinations in the path of the August 12 total solar eclipse, including Spain, Iceland and Greenland. Travel is also up 20% to cities hosting this year’s World Cup.

Flights to Amsterdam and London are getting an additional boost from Harry Styles’ residency, with the final Amsterdam show driving a 10% increase in United bookings for that day.

Editor's Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.