Options traders are aggressively buying calls on PYPL. The put-call ratio has dropped to 0.357 — a 52-week low, sitting 1.86 standard deviations below the 20-day mean. That's the most bullish options positioning PayPal has seen all year.
Yet short sellers are moving in the opposite direction.
Short interest hit 5.49% of free float as of June 16 — up 8.4% week-on-week and 21% over the past month. That's a meaningful build. But the borrow market tells a different story.
Availability stands at 1,468%. For every share already borrowed short, roughly 14 more remain available to lend. Cost to borrow has collapsed 56% in a week to just 0.20%. Shorting PayPal has never been cheaper or easier this year.
The disconnect is notable. Shorts are adding exposure. Yet the lending pool is flush — no signs of a squeeze building in the plumbing.
The call-buying surge doesn't align with the short build. PCR of 0.357 compares to a 52-week high of 0.630. Traders have cut put hedges dramatically since late May, when the ratio sat around 0.43.
The stock has backed that optimism partially — up 5.3% on the week, though still down 1.7% over the past month.
The analyst consensus sits at hold, with a mean price target of $51.54 — roughly 18% above current levels at $43.65. Macquarie downgraded to Neutral in early May, cutting its target from $58 to $50. RBC Capital stands out as a bull, maintaining Outperform with a $59 target. Truist Securities holds a Sell with a $44 target — barely above where the stock trades now.
Earnings are due July 28. The last print on May 5 produced an 8.2% single-day drop.
See the live data behind this article on ORTEX.
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