Claritev Corporation has doubled in a month while short sellers refuse to budge — that tension is the story this week.
The stock closed at $30.67 on Tuesday, up 8.2% on the week and an extraordinary 121% over the past month. That kind of move would normally flush out a meaningful portion of a short book. It hasn't. Short interest has barely shifted over 30 days, still sitting at 7.4% of free float — roughly 1.22 million shares. More telling: shorts added over the past week at nearly the same pace the stock climbed, with short interest rising 8.1% in seven days to match the stock's 8.2% gain almost tick for tick. The ORTEX short score of 78.1 ranks in the most bearish 1st percentile of the entire universe — an unusually high reading that has been remarkably stable all week, barely moving despite the rally.
The borrow market tells a nuanced version of that story. Availability has actually loosened slightly — from roughly 65% a week ago to 74.8% now — meaning there is still meaningful supply for new shorts to enter. That loosening, against a backdrop of rising short interest, suggests new bears are actively borrowing and building positions rather than existing shorts being squeezed out. Cost to borrow remains low at 1.42%, up about 13% on the week but nowhere near distressed levels. The 52-week low in availability was 15.4%, reached earlier this year when the borrow market was genuinely tight. The current reading is far from that. Options positioning reinforces the cautious mood: the put/call ratio is running at 2.22, close to the 52-week high of 3.21 and well above the low of 0.08 touched around mid-May. While the ratio has eased slightly below its 20-day average of 2.40, puts still heavily outnumber calls — hedging demand remains elevated even as the stock rallies.
The Street is still piecing together its view on a name that has clearly surprised to the upside. The most recent analyst action was Canaccord Genuity initiating at Buy with a $32 target in late May — a price CTEV has now blown through. Barclays initiated at Overweight with a $28 target in late April, also now below current levels. The consensus mean target is $36.83, implying roughly 20% further upside from here, but that number is anchored by initiations and cuts from earlier in the year when the stock was trading well below $20. Wells Fargo sits at Equal-Weight with a $22 target — a bear on the Street who is now deeply underwater on that call. Analyst recommendation differentiation scores in the 94th percentile, meaning CTEV is one of the most polarising names in the coverage universe right now. Valuation offers a mixed read: the P/E has expanded sharply, adding 2.24 points over 30 days to reach 4.98x on a trailing basis — a compressed multiple that reflects a company still carrying significant debt and restructuring noise rather than a growth premium.
The insider picture adds an important layer of context. Over the past 90 days, insiders have been net buyers to the tune of about 51,000 shares worth nearly $764,000. The Chairman and President/CEO Travis Dalton purchased shares twice on May 18 at prices between $11.88 and $12.92 — less than half today's price. An EVP added in mid-March, the CFO bought in March, and as recently as June 9 the HR Director picked up a small position at $28.41. Every recent insider transaction has been a purchase. That cluster of buying from the CEO down through finance and legal in the $12–$17 range looks prescient in hindsight, and suggests management had conviction the stock was deeply undervalued at those levels.
The ownership base adds one more dimension worth watching. Hellman & Friedman holds 22.8% and Ares Management another 10.9% — both unchanged in the most recent filings. The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund holds 7.5%. These are patient, concentrated holders who are not rushing to distribute into the rally, which limits natural supply in the float. The next earnings print is scheduled for August 3. The last quarterly result produced a modest 2% one-day gain but was followed by an 11% five-day decline — a pattern where initial relief fades as investors reassess the numbers more carefully. With the stock now trading through most analyst targets and short interest holding firm, the August print becomes a key test of whether the rally's fundamentals match the price action.
See the live data behind this article on ORTEX.
Open CTEV on ORTEX →ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
