u/Ffigy ·
Reddit — r/wallstreetbets
· June 25, 2026 at 17:38
· ⬆ 236 pts
· 💬 87 comments
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AI Summary
Summary
The post argues that a USDA-confirmed screwworm outbreak in Texas is being used by “smart money” to suppress Wendy’s stock price, with short interest manipulation ahead of reporting dates. The author believes holding shares will force shorts to cover.
Author holds 6,000 shares at $7.80 avg and is buying more, expecting a short squeeze by June 30 when elevated SI must be reported.
Quality assessment: Speculative DD with a conspiratorial framing; no hard data on short interest or market-maker behavior, relies on anecdotal timing and brand recognition.
Score236
Comments87
Upvote %91%
▶ Full Post Text
There's murmuring about some deleted post that got this all started, but I'll tell you what. At the start of the month, the USDA confirmed screwworm had infected cattle in TX. The outbreak had actually begun in Central America and spread North. It's the sort of thing that spreads aggressively and can devastate the cattle industry. I think the "smart money" in Wendy's decided it was going to wreck their bottom line and, knowing how fond we are of our beloved Wendy's, they decided they'd offload on us. They may have even succeeded in reversing their positions yesterday.
The joke's on them though. Since when did this market start caring about fundamentals like bottom lines? Wendy's (market cap $1.5B) makes more money than SpaceX (market cap $2T or w/e). Given that they've probably unloaded shares and increased SI, their next move is to make this screwworm epidemic breaking news in an attempt to crash the stock. I don't care. Do you? They can suspend the dividend for all I care. I am not selling at these prices. Why not? Two reasons:
\- Go find a stranger and ask them if they know Wendy's. You don't really have to do that. They do. It's an international brand. It's not going anywhere.
\- MMs can legally sell shares they don't possess and they have a grace period before they have to report it. The report for SI on June 15 goes public this evening. That is not a coincidence. I bet it is less than the \~35% from May 29. Why? This situation has been in the making since the USDA report at the start of June. They started the pump a day before that SI number goes public so that the lower SI makes it look like there's no there there, but remember! Tonight's value is for June 15. They don't want to be short ahead of the pump. They want to short during the pump. The value of SI between June 15-30 must be reported to FINRA on July 2. Between now and then, they can drive the price down to whatever and as long as they get shareholders to panic sell before the 30th, they can cover it up. If shareholders hold, they will have to unwind a lot on June 30 or else report some astronomical SI that is obviously criminal market manipulation.
What I'm looking for:
\- Lowered SI for June 15 in the report this evening
\- Breaking news stories about the screwworm epidemic
\- Share price declines through the weekend
What I'm doing:
\- Buying & holding shares indefinitely
\- Eating Wendy's & making tendies
Position:
[6000 shares at $7.80 avg](https://preview.redd.it/i5vdfttseg9h1.jpg?width=1052&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf1dbf1090c92a1d32300b6ffa05501b4f93016b)
This is not advice. I really do like the stock. I bought my first 100 shares in '23 & proceeded to DCA:
[Bought 100 shares in 2023 & proceeded to DCA](https://preview.redd.it/2icdovbihg9h1.jpg?width=1034&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=87e7e6c2f6224f584fc8370cdab1d7415fefa0de)
Mods: I know this comes dangerously close to violating rule 9, but look around. Look at your front page. Look at WEN trading volumes. Look at my account history. This is real.