Procore Bulls Dominate Options as Short Sellers Add Pressure Before the Print

Procore Technologies reports Q2 results today against a backdrop where options traders are leaning bullishly while short sellers have quietly built their largest position in months.

The options signal is the clearest expression of sentiment heading into the print. The put/call ratio has collapsed to 0.20 — less than half its 20-day average of 0.37, and close to the lowest reading of the past year at 0.08. That's nearly one standard deviation below the recent mean, a configuration that typically reflects heavy call accumulation rather than hedging demand. The stock has responded: PCOR closed at $48.84, up 5% on the day and 10% on the week, with a 16% gain over the past month. Peers moved in the same direction — HUBS gained 6.7% on the day and GWRE added 6.8%, suggesting broader SaaS tailwinds are lifting the group — but Procore's call skew still stands out.

Short interest, however, tells a more cautious story beneath the surface. At nearly 8.9% of the free float, short positioning is material and has risen around 14% over the past week to roughly 13.8 million shares. That weekly build is notable: it puts SI at its highest level since at least early June. What makes this less alarming than it sounds is the borrow market, which remains extraordinarily loose. Availability is running at over 1,800% of short interest — meaning there are roughly eighteen shares available to borrow for every one currently shorted — and the cost to borrow is a negligible 0.52%. There is no squeeze pressure here; shorts are comfortable and have plenty of room to add.

The analyst community is broadly bullish but has been trimming targets ahead of this print. Jefferies and Barclays both cut price targets meaningfully in the past two weeks — Jefferies from $95 to $75 and Barclays from $65 to $50 — while maintaining positive ratings. TD Cowen lowered to $60 from $70 this morning but also held its Buy. Guggenheim initiated at Buy with a $68 target just last week. The consensus mean of $66 still implies roughly 35% upside from current levels, though those targets embed optimism on AI-driven growth that the bear case directly challenges. Bulls point to Procore's dominant position in construction management software and a credible AI upsell story; bears flag intensifying competition from Autodesk and AI-native point solutions, sluggish Q1 performance, and elongated sales cycles in a rate-sensitive construction market.

Historical reactions add an important caveat. The last two prints saw the stock fall 4% and 15% respectively on the day of results, with five-day losses reaching 17% and 23%. That pattern of outsized post-earnings weakness is precisely what the current short build and target cuts appear to be pricing. The Q2 report will test whether the recent price rally — and the aggressive call positioning behind it — can survive contact with the numbers, or whether the bears who quietly added through mid-July have the better read on what the company is about to say.