OPT_SPORTSBETS

WALLSTREETBETS JUST FOUND ITS NEXT GAMESTOP. Wendy's $WEN exploded 42% today, its biggest single day move since the 2020 pandemic crash rebound. The move came right after Wendy's named Steven Cirulis, a former Potbelly executive, as its new CFO. But that alone doesn't explain a 42% spike. Wendy's had hit a 13-year low of $6.07 just one day earlier, down nearly 40% over the past 12 months, after Q1 sales fell 5.5% and net income dropped 42%. Short interest sits at a record 26%, with S3 Partners pegging bearish bets at 23% of the free float. That combination, a beaten down stock with heavy short positioning, is exactly what fuels a short squeeze: rising prices force short sellers to buy back shares to cover losses, which pushes the price up further. Wendy's became the second most mentioned stock on Reddit's WallStreetBets in the past 24 hours, the same forum that drove GameStop and AMC during the 2021 meme stock boom. This isn't Wendy's first time as a meme stock. The same thing happened in June 2021, when a single Reddit post sparked a 26% spike, though that rally faded within weeks since short interest was actually low and didn't support a real squeeze. This time the setup is different, with short interest at a record high going in.