Kforce Inc. reported Q2 earnings on July 27. The signals that pointed to a bullish setup ahead of that print have now resolved. Short sellers have cut further, the borrow market has loosened sharply, and call positioning remains at a 52-week extreme.
Five days ago, this column flagged an unusual alignment: a put/call ratio at its lowest in a year, short interest falling, and an analyst target raise. The print has now landed. The post-earnings data tells a consistent story — bears kept retreating.
Short interest fell another 11.5% in the week to July 24. It now stands at 7.4% of free float, the lowest since late June. That is down from roughly 10% in mid-June. Bears have covered into what was already a rising stock.
The starkest post-earnings shift is in the lending market. Cost to borrow has collapsed 62% in one week to just 0.37% — its lowest reading in 52 weeks. That is not a squeeze; it is the opposite. Shorts who needed stock to borrow are returning it. Availability has widened to 1,466%, up from around 955% in early July. There are now roughly 15 shares available to lend for every one currently borrowed. The borrow market has not been this loose all year.
The put/call ratio sits at 0.26 — still the 52-week low, still 1.6 standard deviations below its 20-day average of 0.80. The options market has not faded its bullish positioning after the earnings date passed. That is notable. Pre-earnings call positioning sometimes evaporates the moment results are out. Here it has held.
Truist Securities raised its price target to $60 from $38 on July 22 — a 58% increase — while maintaining its Hold rating. That target now sits above the current price of $55.12. The stock is up 21% over the past month, and the ORTEX short score has eased from 54.4 on July 13 to 49.9 on July 24, reflecting the reduced short pressure.
What to watch: Whether the options PCR normalises toward its 20-day mean of ~0.80 now that earnings have passed, and whether short interest continues falling or stabilises near the June lows.
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