Why this matters: Equifax is trading at $170.45, down 20% YTD and 24.7% below the analyst consensus target. Since the Q2 earnings beat on July 15, bears have rebuilt aggressively. Three separate signals now confirm the same direction.
Short interest hit 5.3% of free float on July 22. That is up roughly 17% from the ~4.5% level noted before the Q2 print. The rebuild is deliberate and sustained — shares short have risen every session since July 9.
The move makes sense in context. The July 15 print delivered a 7.6% one-day pop. Earnings on July 21 then knocked the stock back 5.3%. Bears appear to have used both events: covering into weakness before the print, then re-entering after the miss.
Cost to borrow has nearly doubled in a week, jumping 92% to 0.43%. That is the sharpest weekly move since June.
The rise signals increasing demand for borrows. But the lending market is not tight. Availability sits at 2,299% — meaning roughly 23 shares remain available for every one already borrowed. The 52-week floor for availability is 620%. Bears are paying more to borrow, but supply is not a constraint. This is a cost signal, not a squeeze signal.
The put/call ratio stood at 0.88 on July 20 — the pulse that triggered the options flag. By July 22 it had pulled back to 0.77, below the 20-day mean of 0.80. The PCR z-score is now -0.68, mildly below average.
Options hedging intensity peaked around the earnings date and has since faded. The options market is no longer adding to the bearish signal — it is simply neutral.
Six firms cut price targets on July 22, the day after the earnings miss. All maintained their ratings. Consensus sits at $210.52 — still 24% above current price. Wells Fargo moved to $212 from $220. Morgan Stanley cut to $225 from $243. RBC made the largest reduction, to $194 from $222.
No upgrades. No target raises. The Street reset estimates but did not abandon the name.
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