Why this matters: Three distinct signals are converging on ASST — Strive, Inc. — at once. Options traders are making aggressive bullish bets. The borrow market has been bone-dry for weeks. And short interest has climbed 34% over the past month. These forces are pulling in opposite directions.
The standout signal is in the options market. ASST's put-call ratio hit 0.084 on July 21. That is a 3-year extreme low. The 20-day average PCR sits at 0.116. The current reading is more than three standard deviations below that mean (z-score: -3.13).
In plain terms: for every put contract, there are roughly 12 calls. Options traders are positioned heavily for upside. The stock rose 5.3% on July 21 alone. It is up 4.8% over the past week.
That bullish positioning sits against a stark backdrop in the lending market.
Availability on ASST has been at 0% every single day since at least June 10 — the full extent of the data window. Every share in the lending pool is currently lent out. There is nothing left to borrow.
Short interest stands at 3.3% of free float. That has risen 34% over the past month. Yet the cost to borrow has actually fallen — down 24% over 30 days to 1.58% annually. Cost to borrow declining while availability stays at zero is unusual. It suggests the existing borrow positions were locked in earlier at higher rates, and the pool simply hasn't replenished.
The ORTEX short score sits at 73.6. It has drifted up from 72.0 two weeks ago. That score reflects the tightness of the borrow market and the directional pressure from short positioning.
Analyst coverage is uniformly bullish. The consensus mean price target is $28.80 — more than double the current $13.00 price. Benchmark initiated at Buy with a $32 target in June. TD Cowen raised its target to $30 in May. HC Wainwright sits at $38.
Institutional activity corroborates the bull camp. FMR (Fidelity) added 6.3 million shares and now holds 9.8% of the company. BlackRock added 3.1 million shares as recently as June 30. Geode and State Street both added positions in the most recent quarter.
Vivek Ramaswamy — listed as a holder with a 7.8% stake — trimmed by 1.4 million shares. That is the notable exception in an otherwise accumulation-heavy holder list.
What to watch: Whether the options-driven bullish momentum can persist against a short base that has been steadily building with no available borrow to cover into.
See the live data behind this article on ORTEX.
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ASST heads into the weekend with a damaging juxtaposition: a $2.55 billion shelf prospectus filed on June 5 landing the same week the stock fell 21%. The prospectus is the headline story this week. Strive registered up…
