Himax Technologies enters July with a striking divergence: short sellers are rebuilding positions at the fastest pace in months, yet the stock bounced 5.3% on Tuesday even as the week ended down 9%.
The most notable development this week is how rapidly the borrow landscape has changed. Availability has collapsed from an exceptionally loose 3,168% on June 22 to just 238% by June 30 — a drop of nearly 90% in one week. That still sits in normal territory, but the speed of the move is what stands out. Simultaneously, short interest climbed 15% over the week to roughly 6.47 million shares, its highest level since mid-May. Cost to borrow has followed, rising 39% on the week to 0.55% — still cheap in absolute terms, but directionally the trend is clear. The borrow market for HIMX is tightening faster than at any point in the past six weeks.
Options positioning reinforces the cautious tone. The put/call ratio has climbed to 0.30, its highest reading of the past 52 weeks, and now runs nearly two standard deviations above its 20-day average of 0.27. That is not yet an extreme reading in absolute terms — HIMX is a stock where calls have historically dominated — but the steady drift higher through June suggests traders have been adding downside protection throughout the selloff, not just at the end of it. The ORTEX short score, meanwhile, has moved from 35.4 on June 22 to 48.3 by June 30, a 37% increase in eight sessions. The short score ranking sits in the 28th percentile — not alarming on its own, but the trajectory matters more than the level here.
The Street picture is complicated by stale data. The most recent analyst action on record is a Baird target raise to $15 from December 2024, and the consensus mean target of $23.70 is dated to May 2026 — both are difficult to treat as current guidance given the stock's subsequent 25% one-month decline to $15.34. What can be said is that HIMX's earnings-surprise factor score ranks in the 86th percentile, suggesting the company has consistently beaten estimates. The days-to-cover rank also scores in the 82nd percentile, pointing to relatively thin daily trading volume relative to the short position — a dynamic that could amplify moves in either direction around a catalyst.
The most recent earnings print is the clearest data point in the snapshot. HIMX reported Q1 2026 results on May 7 and the stock surged 44% in a single session, then extended gains to 68% over the following five days. That kind of reaction reflects a market that was deeply underpositioned for good news. The setup heading into the next print — scheduled for August 7 — looks different. The stock has since given back most of those gains, short interest is rebuilding, and borrow availability has tightened sharply. Correlated peers had a rough week too: QCOM fell 9.5% and NVTS dropped 16%, while PENG and MRAM bucked the trend with gains above 7%, suggesting the weakness in HIMX is partly sector-driven and partly idiosyncratic.
The August 7 earnings date is the natural focal point. Whether the current short rebuild reflects informed repositioning ahead of that print, or simply a reversal of the post-earnings squeeze, is the question worth watching as availability data develops through July.
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