SoFi Technologies (SOFI) shares are climbing Monday morning, which is interesting because the digital lender is supposed to be in recovery mode after a pretty volatile week. You know how it goes—sometimes the market just decides to be contrary.

Bearish sentiment had been hanging over the stock like a cloud after a critical short-seller report came out, but apparently Monday is for shaking that off.

The Muddy Waters Battle

SoFi stock took some serious heat last week. Muddy Waters Research, the firm run by Carson Block, basically called the company a "financial engineering treadmill." That's not a compliment. They alleged that SoFi's 2025 adjusted EBITDA was inflated by a whopping 90%.

Block suggested the real figure was more like $103 million, which is a far cry from the reported $1.05 billion. The report also threw around some serious language, questioning what it called "Enron-esque" off-balance-sheet structures. Ouch.

SoFi management didn't just sit there and take it. They fired back on Wednesday, calling the claims a "fundamental lack of understanding" of how their business works. They even hinted they might pursue legal action, which is the corporate equivalent of "talk to my lawyer."

Management said the report was "designed to deceive investors" and highlighted that Muddy Waters stands to profit from immediate short covering. "They stand to profit from their own misleading report," SoFi added. It's a classic he-said, she-said, but with billions of dollars at stake.

Everyone's Betting Against It

Speaking of short sellers, bearish bets against the fintech firm are actually increasing. Short interest recently rose from 123.21 million to 128.39 million shares. That represents 10.29% of the company's public float, which is not nothing. It means a lot of people are betting the stock will go down, even as it goes up on Monday. The market is a confusing place.

What the Charts Say

From a technical standpoint, SoFi is trading 5.3% below its 20-day simple moving average and 30.1% below its 100-day simple moving average. That keeps the intermediate trend pointed lower, despite Monday's little bounce. So the technical picture isn't exactly screaming "buy me" to chart watchers.

The stock is up 25.55% over the past 12 months, which sounds good until you realize it's currently positioned closer to its 52-week lows than highs after pulling back from a peak of $32.73. The Relative Strength Index is sitting at 28.61, and the MACD is at -1.0809 versus a signal line of -1.1279.

For the traders keeping score at home, key resistance sits at $17.50 and key support is at $17.00.

Insiders Are Doing Things

Investors are also keeping an eye on what the people who actually run the company are doing with their own money. CEO Anthony Noto bought 28,900 shares at $17.32 on March 17. That's usually seen as a vote of confidence—putting your money where your mouth is.

On the other hand, CTO Jeremy Rishel executed a "sell-options" transaction totaling $4.48 million between March 16 and 18. That's a lot of money, and it's the kind of move that makes people scratch their heads. Is he diversifying? Does he need a new boat? Who knows. But when insiders do different things, it sends mixed signals to the market.

As of Monday, SoFi Technologies shares were up 1.98% at $17.24, according to market data.