IonQ Borrow Pool Near Empty as Short Interest Climbs to 14%

The lending market for IONQ has reached a critical point. Availability has collapsed to just 1.25% — meaning only one share is available to borrow for every 80 already lent out. That is a 95% drop in a single week.

At the same time, short sellers are piling in. SI hit 14.1% of free float on July 24, up 16.4% in one week. Options traders are moving in the opposite direction.

The Borrow Squeeze

A week ago, availability stood near 26%. It has since cratered through 16%, 9%, and 3% to reach 1.25%. The 52-week low is 0.1% — so the floor is visible from here.

Cost to borrow has risen 22.6% over the past week to 1.11%. That is still a relatively modest absolute rate. But the direction matters. With availability this thin, further demand for borrows could push the cost sharply higher.

The ORTEX short score sits at 67.0, up from 64.4 two weeks ago. The short score rank is in the 4th percentile — among the most bearishly positioned names tracked by ORTEX.

Bulls Buying Calls Into the Selloff

The stock has fallen 43% in the past month. Yet the put-call ratio has dropped to 0.86, a 2-year low and a z-score of -2.0 versus the 20-day mean of 0.99.

That is a significant divergence. Short sellers are aggressively adding exposure. Options traders are aggressively buying calls. Both sides are leaning in hard after a brutal drawdown.

Earnings are due August 5. Both camps appear to be positioning for a large move.

Analyst Backdrop

The analyst consensus is Buy. The mean price target is $68.41 — more than double the current price of $32.84.

Northland Capital raised its target from $55 to $70 in late June. Wedbush moved from $60 to $75 in May. Both maintain Outperform ratings. JP Morgan sits on the other side with a Neutral and a $50 target.

BlackRock added 1.5 million shares in Q2, bringing its stake to 8% of shares outstanding. Goldman Sachs added 1.68 million shares. Two Sigma built a near-new position of 2.34 million shares. These are institutions building, not trimming.

What to Watch

The August 5 earnings print is the near-term catalyst. With availability at 1.25% and short interest still climbing, any positive surprise creates a mechanical problem for short sellers — there are almost no shares left to borrow if a covering wave starts. The call-buying surge suggests at least part of the market is pricing exactly that scenario.

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• Short interest: 14.1% of free float, up 16.4% in one week
• Borrow availability: 1.25%, down 95% week-on-week; 52-week low is 0.10%
• Cost to borrow: 1.11%, up 22.6% in one week
• Put-call ratio: 0.86, z-score -2.0 vs 20-day mean
• Short score: 67.0 (4th percentile rank)
• Analyst consensus: Buy; mean target $68.41 vs current price $32.84
• Next earnings: August 5, 2026