Perrigo Company plc is caught in a sharp divergence: the stock posted its strongest weekly gain in months while short sellers were simultaneously rebuilding positions at the fastest pace in over a year.
Short interest is the central tension in this note. Shares short jumped 26% in one week to 13.5% of the free float — roughly 18.6 million shares — the highest level in the 30-day window and a continuation of a trend that accelerated sharply around June 24. A month ago, short interest was closer to 14.8 million shares, near 10.8% of float. The move higher is sustained, not a one-day spike. The ORTEX short score has tracked this shift, climbing from 59.7 on June 24 to 64.9 by July 2 — a notable five-point rise in under two weeks.
The borrow market doesn't yet reflect panic on either side, but the signals are tightening. Availability has dropped from around 367% of short interest on June 26 to 231% now — still well within the normal range, but a 36% decline in one week. That tightening coincides directly with the surge in short positions. Cost to borrow remains low at 0.60%, up roughly 11% on the week and 62% over the past month, but still far from levels that would signal a genuine squeeze. The picture here is one of bears adding steadily to a large existing position, with the borrow market accommodating them easily — for now. Options positioning adds little urgency in either direction: the put/call ratio is 0.37, broadly in line with its 20-day average and well off the 52-week high of 0.97, suggesting options traders haven't joined the bearish rotation.
What the bulls are paying for is deep value, and the Street's patience is being tested. The stock trades at a price-to-book below 0.5 and a P/E around 4.4 — near-distressed multiples for a consumer health business. EV/EBITDA of around 7.2 is not demanding. The mean analyst price target, last consolidated around May 2026, was $16.50 — roughly 50% above the current $11.02 close. That said, the direction of analyst travel over recent years has been firmly downward: targets have been cut repeatedly, and JP Morgan moved from Overweight to Neutral last November. The available analyst data predates recent price action by nearly two months, so current Street conviction is difficult to calibrate precisely. Factor scores reinforce the valuation story — the dividend score ranks in the 99th percentile, though the dividend history shows no payments since mid-2022, which warrants caution reading that figure. The short score rank sits at just the 17th percentile, confirming that the short positioning is elevated relative to peers.
The institutional register provides context on who is on the other side of the short. BlackRock lifted its stake by 3.7 million shares, a notable add last reported as of June 30, taking its position to 12.4% of shares outstanding. Neuberger Berman and Millennium Management both reported meaningful increases as of March 31. These are value-oriented or multi-strategy holders — the kind that tend to absorb pressure rather than accelerate it. With 228 institutional holders on record, the register is reasonably diversified, though concentrated at the top.
Recent earnings history adds another layer of caution into the August 5 print. The May 2026 Q1 result produced a 4.5% one-day decline and a further 11.6% move lower over the following five days. The prior release was near-flat on day one but also slipped 6.3% across the following week. Neither print rewarded near-term holders. With short interest at a new high heading into that August report and the stock having just bounced 14% in a week, the setup heading into the next result — how well the recent rally holds against a backdrop of persistent and rising short positioning — is the question worth watching.
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