Integra LifeSciences heads into its Q1 2026 earnings call — confirmed for May 5 — with short sellers adding aggressively and the stock at a multi-year low of $10.08.
Short interest is the dominant story here, and it is moving hard. Bearish positioning has climbed to 15.6% of the free float, up from roughly 12.7% in mid-March. That is a near-25% increase in the short base over six weeks, with the most visible jump occurring between April 22 and April 24, when shares outstanding on loan jumped by approximately 340,000 in a single session. Days to cover, per FINRA's mid-April settlement, sit at a punishing 12 days — meaning it would take more than two full trading weeks for shorts to unwind at average volumes. The ORTEX short score holds at 63.5, in the upper third of the bearish range, and has been virtually unchanged for a fortnight, signalling that conviction on the short side is not wavering.
The lending market tells a consistent story. Borrow cost has drifted 21% higher over the past week to 0.77% — still cheap in absolute terms, but the direction matters: it suggests incremental demand for borrows rather than any short-covering. The snapshot data shows availability running in a range consistent with that demand pickup, and the 52-week high utilization of 11.81% suggests the borrow market has seen tighter periods, meaning there is still room for the short base to grow without hitting a squeeze. Options positioning adds a modest defensive tilt: the put/call ratio is 0.42, modestly above its 20-day average of 0.40 and less than one standard deviation elevated. That is not a panic hedge — it is a mild lean toward caution, not an aggressive bet.
The Street is largely aligned with the shorts, or at least not pushing back hard. The consensus is a hold, with four analysts, and the mean price target is $16 — a 59% implied return from current levels, though this largely reflects how far the stock has fallen rather than renewed optimism. Recent analyst actions have been uniformly negative: Truist lowered its target to $12 in mid-April while holding its Hold rating, and Argus Research downgraded to Hold from Buy on the same day. Citigroup's Sell-rated analyst had already trimmed her target to $9 in March. At $10.08, the stock is trading through or near several price targets, compressing the range between bulls and bears. The EV/EBITDA multiple has compressed to 7.5x, down slightly over the past week, while the price-to-book ratio is just 0.42 — a level that suggests the market is pricing in meaningful balance sheet risk or sustained earnings deterioration. The EPS surprise factor score is in the 12th percentile, reflecting a track record of missing estimates rather than beating them.
One headline worth watching in the news flow: on April 23, the FDA announced a recall of Integra's Codman Disposable Perforators — cranial drill components — due to a risk of device disassembly. Device recalls carry potential revenue disruption and regulatory scrutiny, and this one dropped mid-week, directly into the window where short interest accelerated most visibly. Whether it was a trigger or a coincidence, it is now part of the Q1 call narrative. A separate shareholder investigation notice from Kaskela Law, published April 21, adds another layer of legal overhang that management will likely need to address.
The closest peer in correlation terms, BAX, fell 7.7% on the week. GEHC dropped 16.7%. The sector is broadly under pressure, but IART's 6.2% weekly decline is actually the most contained among its correlated peers — which points to how much of the stock's structural discount is already priced in rather than fresh selling. With earnings confirmed for May 5 and the February print having produced a 1.8% day-one drop and a 14.7% five-day loss, all eyes on Tuesday will be on whether the Codman recall, ongoing margin contraction, and international weakness have deepened further into Q1 — or whether the stock's proximity to analyst sell-side targets finally forces a rethink of positioning.
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