Verizon reports Q2 results on July 24 with the most call-heavy options setup of the past year — and short sellers quietly covering — even as analysts continue to chip away at their targets.
The options signal is the sharpest data point heading into Thursday's print. The put/call ratio has fallen further to 0.79, now more than two standard deviations below its 20-day average of 0.86. That is the lowest reading in the past 12 months. Investors are buying calls, not puts — a posture that reflects genuine upside appetite rather than hedging. The stock has added 3.1% on the week to close at $43.78, recovering ground after a 3.5% monthly decline, and the options market is amplifying that momentum. The last two earnings prints support some optimism: VZ gained 1.9% on the day following Q1 results in April, and added another 1.1% after the May report — both modest but consistent beats.
The lending market adds little drama to the setup. Short interest has edged down roughly 8% over the past month to just 2.1% of the free float — a low level that has been declining steadily since late June, when it ran closer to 2.4%. Borrow cost is negligible at 0.41%, down from mid-June highs above 0.50%, and availability is extraordinarily loose at over 3,700% — roughly 37 shares available for every one currently borrowed. There is no squeeze pressure and no meaningful bearish conviction in the lending market. The ORTEX short score of 33.5 is broadly in line with recent sessions, offering no new signal.
The Street remains cautious on valuation even as it acknowledges the yield story. Analysts have trimmed targets consistently in recent weeks — RBC cut to $46 on Monday, joining Scotiabank, BNP Paribas, and Barclays, which all lowered their numbers over the past fortnight while keeping ratings unchanged. The consensus mean of $51.12 still implies around 17% upside from current levels, but the direction of travel is unambiguously downward. The dividend factor score ranks in the 89th percentile — income buyers remain anchored. Bulls emphasise the Frontier integration as a broadband growth driver and point to a P/E of 8.5x as undemanding. Bears flag postpaid churn risk and the cost of promotional intensity needed to hit the 750K–1M net add target for 2026. BlackRock added 16.9 million shares through June 30, the largest institutional move in the recent reporting cycle, suggesting at least one major passive-plus holder is building rather than trimming.
The peer picture complicates the bullish read slightly. AT&T gained 4.6% on the week — outpacing VZ's 3.1% — while European carriers ELISA and TELIA fell 7.6% and 4.2% respectively, suggesting the US telecom bid is domestically driven rather than sector-wide. That makes Thursday's print a genuine binary: the options market is positioned for upside, but analysts' steadily falling targets mean a miss or a cautious guide could quickly reverse the call-buying that has defined this week's setup.
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