INFY Borrow Dries Up Completely as Shorts Pile In

INFY has hit a critical juncture in its lending market. Every share available to borrow is now lent out. Availability has collapsed to just 0.28% — essentially zero — the tightest reading in 52 weeks.

The Borrow Market Has No Room Left

One week ago, availability sat at roughly 18%. It has since fallen 98% to 0.28%. That means for every 357 shares currently borrowed, fewer than one remains available to lend.

Short interest itself has risen sharply alongside this. The ORTEX daily estimate shows 175.3 million shares short as of June 26 — up 14.9% in a single week and 11.2% over the past month.

Cost to borrow stands at 12.4%. That sounds elevated in isolation, but it is actually down sharply from where it was. CTB peaked above 48% on June 10. The fall since then reflects a normalisation in the rate, not a loosening of the borrow market — the availability data tells the opposite story.

The short score is 73.8, holding near the top of its recent range. It peaked at 75.5 on June 12, pulled back briefly, and has stabilised at elevated levels. The utilisation rank factor sits at the 90th percentile across ORTEX's coverage universe.

Options Positioning Adds Another Layer

The put-call ratio is 3.25 — well above the 20-day mean of 2.98. The z-score of 1.45 is not extreme, but the direction is consistent. Options traders have added to protective put positions even as the stock trades around $10.78, some 36% below December highs.

The PCR has risen from roughly 2.72 in early June to its current level. That shift mirrors the tightening in the borrow market over the same window — two separate markets sending the same signal.

Analysts Still Cutting Targets

The analyst picture has not stabilised. JP Morgan maintained its Overweight rating on June 24 but cut its price target from $16.80 to $12.70 — a 24% reduction. Wells Fargo initiated coverage on June 26 at Equal-Weight with an $11.00 target, barely above the current price. The consensus remains Hold with a mean target of $14.30 — implying upside of around 33% from current levels, though that gap has narrowed sharply as targets have been revised lower across the board since January.

Infosys next reports on July 23. Given the post-earnings moves of late — April's print sent the stock down 4.6% on the day and 7.6% over five days — the positioning now building in both the lending and options markets likely reflects that date on the calendar.

Data Summary

• Borrow availability: 0.28% (52-week low), down 98% in one week
• Short interest: 175.3M shares, +14.9% week-on-week
• Cost to borrow: 12.4% (down from 48% peak on June 10)
• Put-call ratio: 3.25 vs 20-day mean of 2.98
• ORTEX short score: 73.8
• Next earnings: July 23, 2026
• Stock price: $10.78, -10.8% over one month