SQQQ Stock Outlook Today (December 7, 2025): Is the 3x Inverse Nasdaq ETF Running Out of Steam?

ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (NASDAQ: SQQQ), the 3x inverse ETF tied to the Nasdaq‑100, is back in focus as traders position ahead of a widely expected Federal Reserve rate cut in December and regulators increase scrutiny of leveraged ETFs.

As of the close on Friday, December 5, 2025, SQQQ finished at $66.49, down 1.14% on the day, with net asset value (NAV) at $66.47 and heavy trading volume of about 39 million shares. ^[1] That move capped a bruising two weeks in which the fund has fallen in 8 of the last 10 sessions, sliding roughly 17.8% over that period. ^[2]

Despite that short-term damage, SQQQ remains one of the most actively traded ETFs on the market, with assets under management around $2.4–2.5 billion and average daily volume above 30–40 million shares. ^[3]

Below is a deep dive into the latest news, forecasts, and analyses around SQQQ as of December 7, 2025, and what they may mean for traders considering this high‑octane bearish play on the Nasdaq‑100.

1. Where SQQQ Stands Right Now

Key price and performance metrics

From an official standpoint, ProShares reports that, as of October 31, 2025, SQQQ’s long‑term total returns remain sharply negative:

• 1‑year total return around ‑56%
• 3‑year and 5‑year annualized returns roughly ‑61% and ‑50%, respectively
• 10‑year annualized total return near ‑54% ^[4]

ETF Database shows similarly harsh numbers, with:

• YTD return near ‑51.9%
• 1‑year return around ‑48.9%
• 3‑year return about ‑55% ^[5]

In other words, despite occasional violent rallies when tech sells off, the long‑term trajectory has been firmly downward—exactly what you’d expect from a daily rebalanced 3x inverse ETF tied to a long‑term up‑trending index.

Technically, SQQQ is also in a fragile spot:

• RSI (relative strength index) in the high‑30s to low‑40s range, suggesting it is no longer extremely oversold but still weak. ^[6]
• Multiple moving‑average signals flashing “Sell” or “Strong Sell” on daily time frames according to technical summaries from Investing.com and Finviz. ^[7]
• ETFdb data shows high volatility (50‑60% volatility over common look‑back windows) and a beta around ‑3.3, consistent with a triple‑inverse product. ^[8]

StockInvest.us, which tracks short‑term trading signals, labels SQQQ a “Strong sell candidate” since November 24, noting the ETF has:

• Fallen in 8 of the last 10 sessions,
• Dropped ‑17.83% over that span,
• Exhibited intraday volatility near 2.5–3% per day. ^[9]

Their model projects a very wide trading range for Monday, December 8, with a statistically possible swing of more than 30% between intraday low and high—highlighting just how extreme SQQQ’s risk profile is. ^[10]

2. Macro Backdrop: Fed Cut Hopes vs. Tech Valuations

SQQQ’s fate is tightly tied to the Nasdaq‑100 and the broader debate over whether the 2025 tech‑led bull market can resume after a late‑year wobble.

Markets are betting heavily on a December rate cut

Recent coverage on Nasdaq.com (via Zacks) and Investopedia notes that Fed funds futures markets now assign 80–90% odds to a 25 basis‑point rate cut in December, after months of mixed signals. ^[11]

• A Nasdaq article argues that a December cut could “reignite the 2025 bull market,” particularly in growth and tech, as lower discount rates boost valuations. ^[12]
• Investopedia’s daily market wrap this week highlighted how softer inflation and cooling consumer data have strengthened the case for a cut, with futures repricing from ~30% odds to nearly 87% in just a couple of weeks. ^[13]

Major Wall Street firms have also shifted stance:

• Bank of America expects a December cut followed by further easing in 2026. ^[14]
• Morgan Stanley recently “reversed course,” moving from no‑cut to projecting a December 25 bps cut, acknowledging they may have “jumped the gun” earlier. ^[15]

For a product like SQQQ, this macro setup is a double‑edged sword:

• Bullish tech scenario (Fed cuts + soft landing) → Nasdaq‑100 rallies → SQQQ likely grinds lower.
• Hard‑landing or “disappointment” scenario (no cut or hawkish tone) → Tech sells off → SQQQ spikes as its inverse leverage kicks in.

Right now, the base case in markets is supportive for risk assets, which by definition is bearish for SQQQ unless there’s a negative surprise.

3. Fresh Coverage of SQQQ (Through December 7, 2025)

MarketBeat: SQQQ as a “value,” “mid‑cap,” and “dividend” watchlist name

On December 6, MarketBeat’s screener dropped SQQQ into multiple thematic lists, underscoring just how visible the ETF has become:

• In “Value Stocks To Add to Your Watchlist – December 6th,” SQQQ appears alongside Invesco QQQ (QQQ) and Snowflake (SNOW) as one of the top “value” picks by dollar trading volume among value‑screened names. ^[16]
• In “Promising Mid Cap Stocks To Add to Your Watchlist – December 6th,” SQQQ is flagged as a mid‑cap name with heavy recent dollar volume, grouped with names like Hims & Hers Health (HIMS), Applied Digital (APLD), and American Airlines (AAL). ^[17]

MarketBeat is careful to remind readers that SQQQ is not a normal operating company but a 3x inverse Nasdaq‑100 trading vehicle, and therefore inherently more volatile and more appropriate for short‑term strategies. ^[18]

Earlier in November, SQQQ also showed up in “Best Dividend Stocks To Keep An Eye On – November 7th,” thanks to its relatively high cash distributions and strong trading volume among dividend‑paying names. ^[19]

“Unusually high” volume and dividend spike

A separate MarketBeat note from November 22 highlighted an “unusually strong” volume spike in SQQQ:

• Roughly 48.6 million shares traded in a single session, about 130% higher than the prior day, as SQQQ traded around $82.61 (pre‑pullback levels).
• The article also pointed out that the ETF’s September 30 quarterly dividend jumped to about $1.2136 per share, implying a multi‑percentage‑point yield at then‑current prices and a big increase from the prior ~$0.26 payout. ^[20]

That large payout follows a pattern: SQQQ’s distributions can be lumpy and are often driven by realized gains on derivatives, portfolio rebalancing, and the mechanics of maintaining the 3x inverse exposure—not by underlying “earnings” like a traditional company.

Institutional interest: Goldman Sachs stake

In September, MarketBeat reported that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. disclosed a new stake of 200,000 shares in SQQQ, worth about $7.67 million, representing ~0.23% of the fund at the time. ^[21]

The same filing showed several other institutional players either initiating or expanding positions, suggesting SQQQ is being used not only by retail traders but also by institutional desks to tactically hedge or express bearish views on the Nasdaq‑100. ^[22]

4. Technical and Quant Models: What They’re Saying Now

Short‑term technical consensus: “Sell,” but oversold pockets

Across several technical platforms, SQQQ currently screens as technically weak:

• Investing.com’s technical summary rates SQQQ as a “Strong Sell” on daily time frames as of December 5, with most moving averages and oscillators pointing downward despite only moderate oversold readings. ^[23]
• ETFdb shows SQQQ down roughly 52% year‑to‑date, with negative returns across 1‑, 3‑, and 5‑year windows, and very high volatility (50–60%+). ^[24]
• Finviz and related dashboards show RSI readings in the high‑30s/low‑40s—weak, but not deeply oversold—alongside a cluster of resistance levels in the high‑60s to low‑70s. ^[25]

StockInvest.us goes further, calling SQQQ a “strong sell candidate” and warning that:

• There is “no support from accumulated volume” below current prices,
• The ETF is in a “very wide and falling trend,”
• Volatility is “very high,” with average daily ranges close to 3%. ^[26]

Tickeron: Bearish trend with some bounce potential

AI‑driven platform Tickeron flags several bearish signals:

• The momentum indicator dropped below zero in late November.
• MACD turned negative and SQQQ dropped below its 50‑day moving average.
• A 10‑day vs 50‑day moving‑average “death cross” occurred on December 3, which their backtests often interpret as a continuation‑down signal. ^[27]

At the same time, Tickeron notes that:

• The stochastic oscillator has lingered in oversold territory,
• The Aroon indicator has occasionally flipped to “uptrend,” and
• Oversold stochastics sometimes precede short‑term bounces. ^[28]

In other words, their AI sees a primary downtrend with periodic bounce risk—classic behavior for a leveraged bearish ETF when the underlying index is choppy but broadly resilient.

5. Forecasts: Short‑Term vs. Long‑Term Views

Near‑term trading forecast (next few days)

StockInvest.us offers a quantitative day‑trading style forecast for Monday, December 8:

• “Fair” opening price estimate around $66.32, very close to Friday’s close.
• Expected daily trading interval between roughly $56.9 and $76.1, implying a possible intraday move of up to ±33.7% from the last close. ^[29]

Their bottom line: SQQQ holds “several negative signals” and is expected to remain weak over the next days to weeks, with a negative evaluation overall. ^[30]

Tickeron, by contrast, frames forecasts probabilistically. It points out that:

• Past instances where SQQQ’s 10‑day moving average crossed below the 50‑day have often preceded further downward moves over the next month.
• Historical cases where SQQQ moved out of overbought RSI zones have, in many instances, led to lower prices in subsequent days. ^[31]

The numbers in those backtests are partially redacted behind a paywall, but the general message is: statistically elevated odds of further downside, albeit with the ever‑present possibility of sudden spikes if the Nasdaq‑100 sells off hard.

Long‑term algorithmic price targets: Handle with skepticism

At the very long end of the spectrum, StockScan publishes extremely aggressive bullish price targets for SQQQ:

• Average 2026 target above $500, implying gains over 650% from current levels.
• Multi‑decade targets above $900 in 2029, $1,100+ in 2030, and even around $2,000 by 2050, implying four‑digit percentage gains. ^[32]

These forecasts are clearly model‑driven extrapolations rather than fundamental valuations. They appear to treat SQQQ as though it were a typical stock with potential for compounding growth, rather than a daily rebalanced 3x inverse ETF that historically loses value over long holding periods when its underlying index trends higher. ^[33]

Given SQQQ’s:

• Long‑term negative returns reported by ProShares itself,
• The structural drag from daily rebalancing and volatility,
• And the historical upward bias of the Nasdaq‑100 index,

such ultra‑long‑term “sky‑high” price targets should be viewed with extreme caution. They are best understood as examples of mechanical, path‑agnostic modeling, not realistic investment roadmaps.

6. Structure and Risks: Why SQQQ Is Not a Typical ETF

Daily reset and compounding risk

According to ProShares and ETFdb, SQQQ is explicitly designed to deliver –3x the DAILY performance of the Nasdaq‑100—not three times the inverse of its multi‑month or multi‑year performance. ^[34]

Key implications:

• Over periods longer than a day, returns are heavily affected by path dependence and volatility drag.
• In volatile but ultimately sideways or upward markets for the Nasdaq‑100, SQQQ can lose value significantly even if the index ends up near where it started.
• The fund’s own 10‑year track record (roughly ‑54% annualized) is a real‑world illustration of this long‑term decay. ^[35]

Reverse split and optics of the price

In late 2024, ProShares implemented a 1‑for‑5 reverse split on SQQQ, lifting the share price by a factor of five while proportionally reducing the share count. ^[36]

That reverse split partly explains:

• The extremely high “52‑week high” values (north of $250 in some databases),
• Why long‑term charts show what looks like a massive historical price level compared to today’s $60‑70 range. ^[37]

Critically, the split does not change the economic value of holdings—it simply rescales the number of shares and their price.

Regulatory scrutiny of leveraged ETFs

Recently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) halted reviews of new highly leveraged ETF proposals, citing worries about complexity and risk exposures to retail investors. ^[38] Shortly after, ProShares withdrew several planned highly leveraged ETF filings in response to that pause. ^[39]

SQQQ itself remains listed and actively traded, but the episode underscores that regulators are increasingly wary of products offering high leverage on volatile underlyings. That doesn’t make SQQQ “unsafe” by default, but it reinforces the idea that it is best suited for sophisticated, short‑term use.

7. Who SQQQ May (and May Not) Be For

Nothing here is personalized financial advice, but the use‑case SQQQ was built for is relatively narrow:

• Suited to:
  • Short‑term traders with a bearish view on the Nasdaq‑100 over hours to days,
  • Portfolio managers looking for a tactical hedge against sudden tech‑sector drawdowns,
  • Those who can monitor positions intraday and manage strict risk limits.
• Poor fit for:
  • Long‑term investors seeking buy‑and‑hold exposure,
  • Anyone uncomfortable with double‑digit daily swings,
  • Investors who don’t fully understand leveraged and inverse ETF mechanics.

ProShares itself emphasizes that geared funds like SQQQ can deviate significantly from their daily target over longer holding periods and encourages investors to periodically monitor their positions and ensure the product still fits their risk tolerance and objectives. ^[40]

8. Short‑Term Scenario Map for SQQQ

Heading into the Fed’s December decision and year‑end positioning, three broad scenarios frame SQQQ’s near‑term risk/reward:

1. “Soft‑landing” rally (base case in markets)
   • Fed cuts 25 bps and signals gradual easing.
   • Inflation continues to cool without a hard hit to employment.
   • Tech and AI‑linked names lead a renewed rally.
   • Likely implication: Nasdaq‑100 strengthens; SQQQ drifts or spikes downward, with occasional squeeze‑driven bounces.
2. Hawkish surprise or data shock
   • Fed holds rates or offers a more hawkish path than futures imply,
   • Or incoming data (labor, inflation, earnings) reawakens recession fears.
   • Nasdaq‑100 sells off sharply.
   • Likely implication: SQQQ can rip higher very quickly, delivering the kind of multi‑day surges that attract tactical bears—but with the usual risk of giving back those gains just as fast.
3. “Whipsaw” environment
   • Conflicting data and Fed messaging produce back‑and‑forth swings in growth stocks.
   • SQQQ experiences violent but ultimately sideways action, with compounding working against buy‑and‑hold holders over time.

Given today’s strong consensus on a December cut, the market is arguably vulnerable to negative surprises, which provides a fundamental rationale for some traders to keep SQQQ on the screen. But the same consensus also means that any relief rally in tech can continue to erode SQQQ’s value.

9. SQQQ FAQ (SEO‑Friendly Quick Answers)

Is SQQQ a good buy today (December 7, 2025)?

From a purely mechanical perspective, SQQQ is designed for short-term bearish trades or hedges against the Nasdaq‑100, not as a conventional long‑term “buy.” Its own sponsor shows decade‑long returns deeply negative (around ‑54% annualized over 10 years), and independent data providers classify it as a high‑risk, high‑volatility, short‑term product. ^[41]

Whether it is “good” at this moment depends entirely on your time horizon, risk tolerance, and view on the Nasdaq‑100 and the Fed.

What is the SQQQ stock forecast for the next few days?

Short‑term models:

• StockInvest.us: “Strong sell candidate,” expecting continued weakness but with a massive potential daily range (±30%+), and no clear support below the current price. ^[42]
• Tickeron: Notes bearish momentum and moving‑average structures, with historical patterns suggesting elevated odds of further downside, though oversold oscillators leave room for short‑term bounces. ^[43]

All of these are probabilistic, not guarantees, and can be overturned quickly if the Nasdaq‑100 experiences a sharp correction.

What are analysts and screeners saying about SQQQ right now?

• MarketBeat’s screener currently categorizes SQQQ among mid‑cap, value, and dividend watchlist names, mainly because of its large dollar trading volume and noticeable distributions—not because it resembles a classic blue‑chip value stock. ^[44]
• MarketBeat’s own coverage and many research pieces emphasize that SQQQ is a trading instrument and hedge, not a long‑term core holding. ^[45]

How risky is SQQQ compared to other ETFs?

Based on ETFdb and ProShares data:

• 20‑ to 200‑day volatility metrics regularly fall in the 50–60%+ range.
• The ETF’s beta of around –3.3 means it tends to move about three times as much as the underlying, in the opposite direction, on a daily basis. ^[46]

That places SQQQ firmly in the “very high risk” bucket, even among leveraged and inverse ETFs.

Does SQQQ pay dividends?

Yes. SQQQ distributes quarterly dividends, which can be quite variable:

• ProShares lists quarterly distributions on its site, and
• MarketBeat highlighted a notable jump in the September 30, 2025 dividend to around $1.21 per share, up sharply from about $0.26 in the prior quarter. ^[47]

These payouts are usually driven by portfolio mechanics and short‑term gains, not by traditional corporate profits, and shouldn’t be treated like a stable “income stock” dividend.

References

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