The Bear Cave #315

New Activist Reports, Recent Resignations, and Tweets of the Week

Mar 01, 2026

Welcome to The Bear Cave! Our last premium articles were “Even More Problems at DraftKings (DKNG)” and “Problems at Yelp (YELP)” and our next special investigation for paid readers comes out this Thursday, March 5.

New Activist Reports

Hunterbrook Media published on Hercules Capital (NYSE: HTCG — $2.61 billion), a technology-focused BDC. Hunterbrook said that Hercules “is among the most software-exposed business development companies (BDCs),” marks its software investment loans around 100 cents on the dollar, and trades at a premium valuation. Hunterbrook also noted that Hercules historically grew by issuing stock at a premium to NAV and appears to misclassify some software investments to lower its reported software exposure. Hunterbrook summarized:

“The software sector that backs 70 cents of every dollar of NAV is in its worst downturn in years. [Hercules Capital] marks haven’t meaningfully moved. The income is increasingly phantom. The dividend cushion is a rounding error. And the warrant portfolio that once absorbed losses has shrunk to a fraction of what it was. These are the facts as they appear in Hercules’ own filings — if you dig for them. The valuation assumes none of them matter.”

Anonymous tech blogger “Akram’s Razor” published on Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ: AXON — $43.6 billion), a law enforcement products and technology company. The report called the company “the best short in the market,” citing high stock-based compensation, an unsubstantiated AI-driven narrative, and the company’s reliance on M&A for growth.

Jehoshaphat Research published on GPGI Inc (NYSE: GPGI — $6.50 billion), a newly formed conglomerate that owns CompoSecure and Husky. Jehoshaphat accused the company of “a variety of accounting games to inflate the performance of the much larger company it just acquired” and called the GPGI “a wealth transfer platform built to enrich its insiders at the expense of outside shareholders.”

Blue Orca Capital published on Sigma Lithium (NASDAQ: SGML — $1.61 billion), an early-stage lithium mining company. Blue Orca alleged that “Brazilian court records reveal undisclosed regulatory actions by state and federal prosecutors, a trove of creditor lawsuits, and a bombshell technical report alleging the mine’s safety is compromised.”

In March 2023, Grizzly Research also published on Sigma and raised concerns about “bogus feasibility studies.”

Wolfpack Research published on Hingham Institution for Savings (NASDAQ: HIFS — $610 million), one of America’s oldest banks. Wolfpack alleged Hingham is “over-leveraged, under-reserved, with a significant portion of its loan book underwater and/or in distress” and specifically cited several real estate loans in the DC area that appear troubled based on site visits to undeveloped properties.

Citron Research tweeted it was short SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK — $93.8 billion), a data storage solutions company, citing a lack of a moat and incoming competition from Samsung.

Recent Resignations

Notable executive departures disclosed in the past week include:

CFO of CareDx (NASDAQ: CDNA — $961 million) resigned with one days’ notice after seven months. The organ transplant healthcare company has had eight CFOs over the last ten years.

CFO of PureCycle Technologies (NASDAQ: PCT — $1.14 billion) retired after two years. The plastic recycling company has had four CFO departures in the last three years.

CFO of TaskUs (NASDAQ: TASK — $960 million) stepped down “to pursue a role at a private company” after nearly ten years. In August 2024, The Bear Cave called the business process outsourcing company “a massive AI loser.”

Board Chair of TechTarget (NASDAQ: TTGT — $253 million), Mary T. Mcdowell, departed after a little over one year. The IT marketing and content company is down ~80% over the last year, in part driven by AI disruption. Ms. Mcdowell continues to serve on two other public company boards.

Chief Business Officer of NerdWallet (NASDAQ: NRDS — $724 million) departed “to pursue other opportunities” after nearly two years in the role.

Data for this section is provided by VerityData from VerityPlatform.com